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PASSAGES 


FROM 


THE  LIFE  OF  A  PHILOSOPHER. 


tonxni:  rnnin  n  w.  oowbs  a»  tout,  trAiirouD  »TaKKT  akd  chabiko  cmh. 


U,  Baf^bage,  del. 

Impression  from  a  woodcut  oi  a  small  jxirtion  of  Mr.  Babboge's  Difference 
Engine  No.  1,  the  property  of  Govemment,  at  present  dejxMitcil  in  the  Muheiim 
at  South  Kensingtoo. 

It  was  oommenoed  1823. 

This  portion  put  together  1833. 

The  construction  abandoned  1842. 

This  plate  i^nis  printed  June,  1853. 

This  portion  was  in  the  Exhibition  1862, 


PASSAGES 


FROM 


THE  LIFE  OF  A  PHILOSOPHER. 


CHARLES  BABBAGE,  ESQ.,  M.A., 

F.R.8m  F.R.S.B^  F.U.A.S.,  F.  STAT.  S.,  HON.  M.n.I.A.,  M.C.P.8., 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  ITALIAN  OUDER  OF  ST.  MAURICE  AND  ST.  LAZARUS. 

I3I6T.  IMP.  (aCAU.  MORA!..)  FAKU  UORB.,  ACAD.  AMEB.  ART.  ET  tC,  "DOStOV,  RHO.  a  CON.  1K)RC»»., 
PHTdL  HIST.  KAT.  GEXRV.,  ACAb.  RRO.  HOXAC,  lIAfN..  IIA9BIL.,  KT  DIMOK.,  tiOl'IVH. 

Acu>.  DIP.  vr  BEO.  rxnap.,  keap.,  b&lx..  fatav.,  gbobo.  vlo&ek,  likcsi  bom.,  hut..  rmiiOMATn. 

PABI^S  60C.  COBB.,  ETC. 


*'  I'm  a  philuw^her.    Confound  them  all- 
Birds,  Dcut»,  and  men;  but  uu,  not  wuinoiikind."  -//on  Juan. 

**  I  now  gave  my  mind  to  philotopby :  the  Rrcat  ol>J<Tt  of  my  anibltiun  was  to  make  out  a 
oompletf*  syitt»?m  of  tlie  unlver^,  iucludloK  and  cumprchondlnK  the  origin,  cunsieti,  conac^qufuci's,  and 
tenuinalfoii  of  all  tblnga.  •  InHlead  of  countomuicc.  <*ncouragemont,  and  applause,  whicli  I  should 
have  received  from  every  ono  who  has  th>.>  true  dignity  of  an  oyster  at  heart,  1  was  ex|>osed  to 
oalnmny  and  misrepresentation.  While  engaged  in  my  Rreat  work  on  the  universe,  some  even  went 
■o  far  as  to  accuse  me  of  iufldellty ;— sucli  is  the  maliKnity  of  oysten." — "  Autobwgraphjf  of  an 
Ogker"  dkcipkertd  bjf  the  aid  qf  pkotoffrajphtf  in  the  thai  of  a  philoiupher  (ff  tKcU  raott—recenU^ 
aeoUoptd. 


LONDON : 

LONGMAN,  GREEN,  LONGMAN,  EOBEUTS,  &  GBEEN. 

1864. 

[T%e  riyht  q^  Tnmalation  ii  rtmred.] 


DEDICATION. 


TO  VICTOR  EMMANUEL  H,  KING  OF  ITALY. 

SiBE, 

In  dedicating  this  yolume  to  your  Majesty,  I  am  also 
doing  an  act  of  justice  to  the  memory  of  your  illustrious 
father. 

In  1840,  the  King,  Charles  Albert,  invited  the  learned  of 
Italy  to  assemble  in  his  capital.  At  the  request  of  her  most 
gifted  Analyst,  I  brought  with  me  the  drawings  and  explana- 
tions of  the  Analytical  Engine.  These  were  thoroughly 
examined  and  their  truth  acknowledged  by  Italy's  choicest 
sons. 

To  the  King,  your  father,  I  am  indebted  for  the  first  public 
and  official  acknowledgment  of  this  inyention. 

I  am  happy  in  thus  expressing  my  deep  sense  of  that  obli- 
gation to  his  son,  the  Soyereign  of  united  Italy,  the  country 
of  Archimedes  and  of  Galileo. 

I  am,  Sire, 
With  the  highest  respect. 

Your  Majesty's  faithful  Servant, 

chari.es  babbage. 


PREFACE. 


Some  men  ¥rrite  their  lives  to  save  themselves  from  ennui, 
careless  of  the  amoimt  they  inflict  on  their  readers. 

Others  write  their  personal  history,  lest  some  kind  friend 
should  survive  them,  and,  in  showing  off  his  own  talent,  un- 
wittingly show  them  up. 

Others,  again,  write  their  own  life  from  a  different  motive 
— ^from  fear  that  the  vampires  of  literature  might  make  it 
their  prey. 

I  have  frequently  had  applications  to  write  my  life,  both 
from  my  countrymen  and  from  foreigners.  Some  caterers 
for  the  public  offered  to  pay  me  for  it  Others  required  that 
I  should  pay  them  for  its  insertion ;  others  offered  to  insert 
it  without  charge.  One  proposed  to  give  me  a  quarter  of  a 
column  gratis,  and  as  many  additional  lines  of  eloge  as  I 
chose  to  write  and  pay  for  at  ten-pence  per  line.  To  many 
of  these  I  sent  a  list  of  my  works,  with  the  remark  that 
they  formed  the  best  life  of  an  author ;  but  nobody  cared  to 
insert  them. 

I  have  no  desire  to  write  my  own  biography,  as  long  as  I 
have  strength  and  means  to  do  better  work. 

The  remarkable  circumstances  attending  those  Calculating 
Machines,   on  which  I  have  spent  so  large  a  portion  of  my 


viii  PREFACE. 

life,  make  me  wish  to  place  on  record  some  account  of  their 
past  history.  As,  however,  such  a  work  would  be  utterly 
uninteresting  to  the  greater  part  of  my  countrymen,  I  thought 
it  might  be  rendered  less  unpalatable  by  relating  some  of  my 
experience  amongst  various  classes  of  society,  widely  differing 
from  each  other,  in  which  I  have  occasionally  mixed. 

This  volume  does  not  aspire  to  the  name  of  an  autobio- 
graphy. It  relates  a  variety  of  isolated  circumstances  in 
which  I  have  taken  part — some  of  them  arranged  in  tlie 
order  of  time,  and  others  grouped  together  in  separate  chap- 
ters, from  similarity  of  subject. 

The  selection  has  been  made  in  some  cases  from  the  im- 
portance of  the  matter.  In  others,  from  the  celebrity  of  the 
persons  concerned ;  whilst  several  of  them  furnish  interesting 
illustrations  of  human  cliaracter. 


CONTENTS. 


Mt  ANCBttTOKS 


CHAPTER  I. 


PAUB 

1 


Childhood 


CHAPTER  11. 


Boyhood 


CHAPTER  III. 


17 


Cambridue 


CHAPTER  IV. 


25 


CHAPTER  V. 
Difference  Emuinb  No.  1 


41 


CHAFIER  VI. 

Statement  relative  to  the  Difference  Engine,  drawn  up  bt 
THE  LATE  Sir  H.  NiooLAs  FROM  THE  Author's  Papers   ..  G8 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Difference  Engine  No.  2 


97 


CHAPTER  VJII. 
Of  THE  Analytical  Ekoikb  .. 


112 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPITER  IX. 

I'AUE 

Of  TJiK  Mechanical  Notation  ..  142 


CHAPTER  X. 
TiiK  Exhibition  OF  18G2  ..  ..     147 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Thk  LATK  Prince  Con HORT  ..  ..     If38 

CHAFER  XII. 
Recolleciions  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  173 

CHAPTER  Xm. 
Recollections  of  Wollaston,  Davt,  and  Rogers  ..         ..     IbG 

CHAI^'ER  XIV. 
Recollections  OF  Laplace,  BioT,  AND  Humboldt  ..  1U5 

CHAFER  XV. 
Experience  BY  Water  205 

CHAFfER  XVI. 
Experience  BY  Fire 213 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Experience  AMONGST  Workmen        228 

CHAPTER  XVHI. 
Picking  Ix)CK8  AND  Deciphering       233 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Experience  IN  St.  Gileses  ..  ..     242 

CHAPTER  XX, 
Theatrical  Experience  ..  ..251 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XXT. 

PAOB 

ELRCTTONEERiNa  Experience  ..         ..         ..     259 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Scene  fbom  a  New  Aftbb-Piege 276 

CHAPTER  XXin. 

ExPEBIBNCE  AT  COUBTS  ..  ..  ..       292 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
ExPEBiENCB  AT  Courts  298 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Railways  313 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Stebbt  Nuisances       337 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
Wit         363 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Hints  FOB  Tbatellebs  ..         ..  ..     371 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MlBACLEB  387 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Rkuoion  396 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
A  Vision 406 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
Vabiotts  Rbminibcrkces      * 421 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

I'AOR 

The  Author's  OoxTBrnuTioys  to  Hum  an  Knowlbdor  430 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
The  Author's  further  Coktridutions  to  Human  Knowledge  ..     441 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
Results  of  Science  ..  ..         ..  473 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
Agreeable  REooLLErTioNs 482 


Appendix  4S7 


PASSAGES 


LIFE    OF   A   PHILOSOPHER. 


CHAPTER  L 

MY    ANCBSTOBS. 


Traced  his  desoent,  ihrongh  ages  dark. 
From  oata  that  caterwauled  in  Noah's  ark. 

Salmagundi,  4to,  17d3. 

Value  of  a  celebrated  Name — My  Ancestors — Their  Ante-Mosaic  origin — 
Flint-workers — Tool-makers — Not  descended  from  Cain — Ought  a  Phi- 
losopher to  avow  it  if  he  were  ? — Probability  of  Descent  from  Tubal  Cain 
— Argument  in  &vour,  he  worked  in  Iron — On  the  other  side,  he  in- 
vented Organs — Possible  origin  of  my  Name — Family  History  in  very 
recent  times. 

What  is  there  in  a  name  ?  It  is  merely  an  empty  basket, 
until  you  put  something  into  it.  My  earliest  visit  to  the 
Continent  taught  me  the  value  of  such  a  basket,  filled  with 
the  name  of  my  venerable  friend  the  first  Herschel,  ere  yet 
my  younger  friend  his  son,  had  adorned  his  distinguished 
patronymic  with  the  additional  laurels  of  his  own  well-earned 
fame. 

The  inheritance  of  a  celebrated  name  is  not,  however, 
without  its  disadvantages.  This  truth  I  never  found  more 
fully  appreciated,  nor  more  admirably  expressed,  than  in  a 
conversation  with  the  son  of  Filangieri,  the  author  of  the 


2  DESCENT  FROM  FLIXT-WORKEBS. 

celebrated  Treatise  on  LegislatioD,  with  whom  I  became  ac- 
quainted at  Naples,  and  in  whose  company  I  visited  several 
of  the  most  interesting  institutions  of  that  capitaL 

In  the  coarse  of  one  of  our  drives,  I  alluded  to  the  advan- 
tages of  inheriting  a  distinguished  name,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  second  Herschel.  His  remark  was,  "  For  my  own  part> 
^  I  think  it  a  great  disadvantage.  Such  a  man  must  feel  in 
''  the  position  of  one  inheriting  a  vast  estate,  so  deeply 
"  mortgaged  that  he  can  never  hope,  by  any  efforts  of  his 
"  own,  to  redeem  it." 

Without  reverting  to  the  philosophic,  but  unromantic, 
views  of  our  origin  taken  by  Darwin,  I  shall  pass  over  the 
long  history  of  our  progress  from  a  monad  up  to  man,  and 
commence  tracing  my  ancestry  as  the  world  generally  do : 
namely,  as  soon  as  there  is  the  slightest  ground  for  conjec- 
ture. Although  I  have  contended  for  the  Mosaic  date  of  the 
creation  of  man  as  long  as  I  decently  could,  and  have  even 
endeavoured  to  explain  away  •  some  of  the  facts  relied  upon 
to  prove  man's  long  anterior  origin ;  yet  I  must  admit  that  the 
continual  accumulation  of  evidence  probably  will,  at  last, 
compel  me  to  acknowledge  that,  in  this  single  instance, 
the  writings  of  Moses  may  have  been  misapprehended. 

Let  us,  therefore,  take  for  granted  that  man  and  certain 
extinct  races  of  animals  lived  together,  thousands  of  years 
before  Adam.  We  find,  at  that  period,  a  race  who  formed 
knives,  and  hammers,  and  arrow-heads  out  of  flint.  Now, 
considering  my  own  inveterate  habit  of  contriving  tooU,  it  is 
more  probable  that  I  should  derive  my  passion  by  hereditary 
transmission  from  these  original  tool-makers,  than  from  any 
other  inferior  race  existing  at  that  period. 

•  On  the  remains  of  human  art,  mixed  with  the  bones  of  extinct  races  of 
animals.    Prooeedingi  of  the  Royal  Society,  26th  May,  1859. 


NOT  THROUGH  CAIN.  3 

Many  years  ago  I  met  a  very  agreeable  party  at  Mr.  Rogers' 
table.  Somebody  introduced  the  subject  of  ancestry.  I  re- 
marked that  most  people  are  reluctant  to  acknowledge  as 
their  father  or  grandfather,  any  person  who  had  committed  a 
dishonest  action  or  a  crime.  But  that  no  one  ever  scrupled 
to  be  proud  of  a  remote  ancestor,  even  though  he  might  have 
been  a  thief  or  a  murderer.  Various  remarks  were  made, 
and  reasons  assigned,  for  this  tendency  of  the  educated  mind. 
I  then  turned  to  my  next  neighbour,  Sir  Bobert  H.  Inglis,  and 
asked  him  what  he  would  do,  supposing  he  possessed  un- 
doubted documente,  that  he  was  lineally  descended  from  Cain. 

Sir  Robert  said  he  was  at  that  moment  proposing  to  him- 
self the  very  same  question.  After  some  consideration,  he 
said  he  should  bum  them  ;  and  then  inquired  what  I  should 
do  in  the  same  circumstances.  My  reply  was,  that  I  should 
preserve  them  :  but  simply  because  I  thought  the  preservar 
tion  of  any  fact  might  ultimately  be  useful. 

I  possess  no  evidence  that  I  am  descended  from  Cain.  If 
any  herald  suppose  that  there  may  be  such  a  presumption,  I 
think  it  must  arise  from  his  confounding  Cain  with  Tubal 
Cain,  who  was  a  great  worker  in  iron.  Still,  however  he 
might  argue  that,  the  probabilities  are  in  fetvour  of  his 
opinion :  for  I,  too,  work  in  iron.  But  a  friend  of  mine,  to 
whose  kind  criticisms  I  am  much  indebted,  suggests  that  as 
Tubal  Cain  invented  the  Organ,  this  probability  is  opposed 
to  the  former  one. 

The  next  step  in  my  pedigree  is  to  determine  whence  the 
origin  of  my  modem  family  name. 

Some  have  supposed  it  to  be  derived  from  the  cry  of  sheep. 
If  so,  that  would  point  to  a  descent  from  the  Shepherd  Kings. 
Others  have  supposed  it  is  derived  from  the  name  of  S  place 
called  Bab  or  Babb,  as  wo  have,  in  the  West  of  £ugland,  Bab 

B  2 


4  SAD  OMISSION. 

Tor,  Babbacombe,  &c.  But  this  is  evidently  erroneous ;  for, 
when  a  people  took  possession  of  a  desert  country,  its  various 
localities  could  possess  no  names ;  consequently,  the  colonists 
could  not  take  names  from  the  country  to  which  they 
migrated,  but  would  very  naturally  give  their  own  names  to 
the  several  lands  they  appropriated :  "  maia  revenons  a  nos 
motUona" 

How  my  blood  was  transmitted  to  me  through  more 
modem  races,  is  quite  immaterial,  seeing  the  admitted  an- 
tiquity of  the  flint-workers. 

In  recent  times,  that  is,  since  the  Conquest,  my  knowledge 
of  the  history  of  my  family  is  limited  by  the  unfortunate 
omission  of  my  name  from  the  roll  of  William's  followers. 
Those  who  are  curious  about  the  subject,  and  are  idlers,  may, 
if  they  think  it  worth  while,  search  all  the  parish  registers 
in  the  West  of  England  and  elsewhere. 

The  light  I  can  throw  upon  it  is  not  great,  and  rests  on  a 
few  documents,  and  on  family  tradition.  During  the  past 
four  generations  I  have  no  surviving  collateral  relatives  of 
my  own  name. 

The  name  of  Babbage  is  not  uncommon  in  the  West  of 
England.  One  day  during  my  boyhood,  I  observed  it  over  a 
small  grocer's  shop,  whilst  riding  through  the  town  of  Chudley. 
I  dismounted,  went  into  the  shop,  purchased  some  figs,  and 
found  a  very  old  man  of  whom  I  made  inquiry  as  to  his 
family.  He  had  not  a  good  memory  himself,  but  his  wife 
told  me  that  his  name  was  Babb  when  she  married  him,  and 
that  it  was  only  during  the  last  twenty  years  he  had  adopted 
the  name  of  Babbage,  which,  the  old  man  thought,  sounded 
better.  Of  course  I  told  his  wife  that  I  entirely  agreed  with 
her  husband,  and  thought  him  a  very  sensible  fellow. 

The  craft  most  frequently  practised  by  my  ancestors  seems 


A  WILD  ANCESTOR.  5 

to  bavo  been  that  of  a  goldsmith,  although  several  are  be- 
lieved to  have  practised  less  dignified  trades. 

In  the  time  of  Henry  the  Eighth  one  of  my  ancestors,  to- 
gether with  a  hundred  men,  were  taken  prisoners  at  the 
siege  of  Calais. 

When  William  the  Third  landed  in  Torbay,  another  ances- 
tor of  mine,  a  yeoman  possessing  some  small  estate,  under- 
took to  distribute  his  proclamations.  For  this  bit  of  high 
treason  he  was  rewarded  with  a  silver  medal,  which  I  well 
remember  seeing,  when  I  was  a  boy.  It  had  descended  to  a 
very  venerable  and  truthful  old  lady,  an  unmarried  aunt,  the 
historian  of  our  family,  on  whose  authority  the  identity  of 
the  medal  I  saw  with  that  given  by  King  William  must  rest 

Another  ancestor  married  one  of  two  daughters,  the 
only  children  of  a  wealthy  physician.  Dr.  Burthogge,  an  inti- 
mate friend  and  correspondent  of  John  Locke. 

Somewhere  about  1700  a  member  of  my  family,  one 
Richard  Babbage,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  very  wild 
fellow,  having  tried  his  hand  at  various  trades,  and  given 
them  all  up,  offended  a  wealthy  relative. 

To  punish  this  idleness,  his  relative  entailed  all  his  large 
estates  upon  eleven  different  people,  after  whom  he  gave  it  to 
this  Richard  Babbage,  who,  had  there  been  no  entail,  would 
have  taken  them  as  heir-at-law. 

Ten  of  these  lives  had  dropped,  and  the  eleventh  was  in  a 
consumption,  when  Richard  Babbage  took  it  into  his  head  to 
go  off  to  America  vnth  Bamfylde  Moore  Carew,  the  King  of 
the  Beggars. 

The  last  only  of  the  eleven  lives  existed  when  he  em- 
barked, and  that  life  expired  within  twelve  months  after 
Richard  Babbage  sailed.  The  estates  remained  in  possession 
of  the  representatives  of  the  eleventh  in  tlie  entail. 


6  ACT  OF  PARLIAMENT. 

If  it  could  have  been  proved  that  Kichard  Babbage  had 
survived  twelve  months  after  his  voyage  to  America,  these 
estates  would  have  remained  in  my  own  branch  of  the 
family, 

I  possess  a  letter  from  Ricliard  Babbage,  dated  on  board 
tlie  ship  in  which  he  sailed  for  America. 

In  the  year  1773  it  became  necessary  to  sell  a  portion  of 
this  property,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  church  at  Asli- 
brenton.  A  private  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  for  tliat 
purpose,  in  which  the  rights  of  the  true  heir  were  reserved. 


CHAin'EB  11. 

CHILDHOOD. 
*  The  Princo  of  Darkoeas  is  a  gcntloman.'* — JSamUl. 


£arly  Passion  for  inquiry  and  inquisition  into  Toys — ^Lost  on  London 
Bridge — Supposed  value  of  the  young  Philosopher — Found  again- 
Strange  Coincidence  in  after-years — Poisoned-^Frightenod  a  Schoolfellow 
by  a  Ghost — Frightened  himself  by  trying  to  raise  the  Devil — EflTect  of 
Want  of  Occupation  for  the  Mind — Treasure-trove — Death  and  Non- 
apix»rance  of  a  Schoolfellow. 

Fkom  my  earliest  years  I  had  a  great  desire  to  inquire  into 
the  causes  of  all  those  little  things  and  events  which  astonish 
the  childish  mind.  At  a  later  period  I  commenced  the  still 
more  important  inquiry  into  those  laws  of  thought  and  those 
aids  which  assist  the  human  mind  in  passing  from  received 
knowledge  to  that  other  knowledge  then  unknown  to  our  race. 
I  now  think  it  fit  to  record  some  of  those  views  to  which,  at 
various  periods  of  my  life,  my  reasoning  has  led  me.  Truth 
only  has  been  the  object  of  my  search,  and  I  am  not  conscious 
of  ever  having  turned  aside  in  my  inquiries  from  any  fear 
of  the  conclusions  to  which  they  might  lead. 

As  it  may  be  interesting  to  some  of  those  who  will 
hereafter  read  these  lines,  I  shall  briefly  mention  a  few 
events  of  my  earliest,  and  even  of  my  childish  years.  My 
parents  being  bom  at  a  certain  period  of  history,  and  in  a 
certain  latitude  and  longitude,  of  course  followed  the  religion 


8  THE  YOUNG  PHILOSOPHER  LOST. 

of  their  country.  They  brought  me  up  in  the  Protestant  form 
of  the  Christian  faith.  My  excellent  mother  taught  me  the 
usual  forms  of  my  daily  and  nightly  prayer;  and  neither  in 
my  father  nor  my  mother  was  there  any  mixture  of  bigotry 
and  intolerance  on  the  one  hand,  nor  on  the  other  of  that 
unbecoming  and  familiar  mode  of  addressing  the  Almighty 
which  afterwards  so  much  disgusted  me  in  my  youthful  years. 
My  invariable  question  on  receiving  any  new  toy,  was 
"  Mamma,  what  is  inside  of  it  ?"  Until  this  information  was 
obtained  those  around  me  had  no  repose,  and  the  toy  itself, 
I  have  been  told,  was  generally  broken  open  if  the  answer 
did  not  satisfy  my  own  little  ideas  of  the  "  fitness  of  things." 

Earliest  BecoUedioihs, 

Two  events  which  impressed  themselves  forcibly  on  my 
memory  happened,  I  think,  previously  to  my  eighth  year. 

When  about  five  years  old,  I  was  walking  with  my  nurse, 
who  had  in  her  arms  an  infant  brother  of  mine,  across  London 
Bridge,  holding,  as  I  thought,  by  her  apron.  I  was  looking 
at  the  ships  in  the  river.  On  turning  roimd  to  speak  to  her, 
I  found  that  my  nurse  was  not  there,  and  that  I  was  alone 
upon  London  Bridge.  My  mother  had  always  impressed  upon 
me  the  necessity  of  great  caution  in  passing  any  street-cross- 
ing :  I  went  on,  therefore,  quietly  until  I  reached  Tooley  Street, 
where  I  remained  watching  the  passing  veliicles,  in  order  to 
find  a  safe  opportunity  of  crossing  that  very  busy  street. 

In  the  meem  time  the  nurse,  having  lost  one  of  her  charges, 
had  gone  to  the  crier,  who  proceeded  inmiediately  to  call,  by 
the  ringing  of  his  bell,  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  fact 
that  a  young  philosopher  was  lost,  and  to  the  still  more  im- 
portant fact  that  five  shillings  would  be  the  reward  of  his 
fortunate  discoverer.     I  well  remember  sitting  on  the  steps  of 


THE  ORIER  OFFERS  A  REWARD.  9 

the  door  of  the  linendraper's  shop  on  the  opposite  corner  of 
Tooley  Street,  when  the  gold-laced  crier  was  making  prodamar 
tion  of  my  loss ;  but  I  was  too  much  occupied  with  eating 
some  pears  to  attend  to  what  he  was  saying. 

The  fact  was,  that  one  of  the  men  in  the  linendraper's 
shop,  observing  a  little  child  by  itself,  went  over  to  it,  and 
asked  what  it  wanted.  Finding  that  it  had  lost  its  nurse, 
he  brought  it  across  the  street^  gave  it  some  pears,  and 
placed  it  on  the  steps  at  the  door :  having  asked  my  name, 
the  shopkeeper  found  it  to  be^that  of  one  of  his  own  customers. 
He  accordingly  sent  off  a  messenger,  who  announced  to  my 
mother  the  finding  of  young  Pickle  before  she  was  aware  of 
his  loss. 

Those  who  delight  in  observing  coincidences  may  perhaps 
account  for  the  following  singular  one.  Several  years  ago 
when  the  houses  in  Tooley  Street  were  being  pulled  down, 
1  believe  to  make  room  for  the  new  railway  termiuus,  I  hap- 
pened to  pass  along  the  very  spot  on  which  I  had  been  lost 
in  my  infancy.  A  slate  of  the  largest  size,  called  a  Duchess,* 
was  thrown  from  the  roof  of  one  of  the  houses,  and  penetrated 
into  the  earth  close  to  my  feet 

The  other  event,  which  I  believe  happened  some  time  after 
the  one  just  related,  is  as  follows.  I  give  it  from  memory, 
as  I  have  always  repeated  it. 

I  was  walking  with  my  nurse  and  my  brother  in  a  public 
garden,  called  Montpelier  Gardens,  in  Walworth.  On  re- 
turning through  the  private  roctd  leading  to  the  gardens,  I 
gathered  and  swallowed  some  dark  berries  very  like  black 
currants : — ^these  were  poisonous. 

•  There  exists  an  aristocracy  even  amongst  slates,  perhaps  from  their 
occupying  the  most  elevated  position  in  every  house.  Small  ones  are 
called  Ladies,  a  larger  size  Coimtcsses,  and  the  biggest  of  all  are  Duchesses. 


10  YOUNG  PHILOSOPHER  POISONED. 

Ou  my  return  home,  I  recollect  being  placed  between  my 
father's  knees,  and  his  giving  me  a  glass  of  castor  oil,  which  I 
took  from  his  hand. 

My  father  at  that  time  possessed  a  collection  of  pictures. 
He  sat  on  a  chair  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  chimney- 
piece  in  the  breakfast  room,  under  a  fine  picture  of  our 
Saviour  taken  down  from  the  cross.  On  the  opposite  wall 
was  a  still-celebrated  "  Interior  of  Antwerp  Cathedral." 

In  after-life  I  several  times  mentioned  the  subject  both  to 
my  father  and  to  my  mother ;  but  neither  of  them  had  the 
slightest  recollection  of  the  matter. 

Having  suffered  in  health  at  the  age  of  five  years,  and 
again  at  that  of  ten  by  violent  fevers,  from  which  I  was  with 
difficulty  saved,  I  was  sent  into  Devonshire  and  placed  under 
the  care  of  a  clergyman  (who  kept  a  school  at  Alphington, 
near  Exeter),  with  instructions  to  attend  to  my  health ;  but,  not 
to  press  too  much  knowledge  upon  me  :  a  mission  which  he 
faithfully  accomplished.  Perhaps  great  idleness  may  have 
led  to  some  of  my  childish  reasonings. 

Kelations  of  ghost  stories  often  circulate  amongst  children, 
and  also  of  visitations  from  the  devil  in  a  personal  form. 
Of  course  I  shared  the  belief  of  my  comrades,  but  still  had 
some  doubts  of  the  existence  of  these  personages,  although  I 
greatly  feared  their  appearance.  Once,  in  conjunction  with 
a  companion,  I  frightened  another  boy,  bigger  than  myself, 
with  some  pretended  ghost;  how  prepared  or  how  repre- 
sented by  natural  objects  I  do  not  now  remember :  I  believe 
it  was  by  the  accidental  passing  shadows  of  some  external 
objects  upon  the  walls  of  our  common  bedroom. 

The  effect  of  this  on  my  playfellow  was  painful ;  he  was 
much  frightened  for  several  days ;  and  it  naturally  occurred 
to  me,  after  some  time,  that  as  I  had  deluded  Iiim  with  ghosts, 


DELUDES  A  BOY  WITH  A  GHOST.  11 

I  might  myself  have  been  deluded  by  older  persons,  and  that, 
after  all,  it  might  be  a  doubtful  point  whether  ghost  or  devil 
eyer  really  existed.  I  gathered  all  the  information  I  could 
on  the  subject  from  the  other  boys,  and  was  soon  informed 
that  there  was  a  peculiar  process  by  which  the  devil  might 
be  raised  and  become  personally  visibla  I  carefully  collected 
from  the  traditions  of  different  boys  the  visible  forms  in 
which  the  Prince  of  Darkness  had  been  recorded  to  have 
appeared.    Amongst  them  were — 

A  rabbit, 

An  owl, 

A  black  cat,  very  frequently, 

A  raven, 

A  man  with  a  cloven  foot,  also  frequent. 

After  long  thinking  over  the  subject,  although  cheeked  by 
a  belief  that  the  inquiry  was  wicked,  my  curiosity  at  length 
over-balanced  my  fears,  and  I  resolved  to  attempt  to  raise 
the  deviL  Naughty  people,  I  was  told,  had  made  written 
compacts  with  the  devil,  and  had  signed  them  with  their 
names  written  in  their  own  blood.  These  had  become  very 
rich  and  great  men  during  their  life,  a  fact  which  might  be 
well  known.  But,  after  death,  they  were  described  as 
having  suffered  and  continuing  to  suffer  physical  torments 
throughout  eternity,  another  fact  which,  to  my  uninstructed 
mind,  it  seemed  difficult  to  prove. 

As  I  only  desired  an  interview  with  the  gentleman  in 
black  simply  to  convince  my  senses  of  his  existence,  I  de- 
clined adopting  the  legal  forms  of  a  bond,  and  preferred 
one  more  resembling  that  of  leaving  a  visiting  card,  when,  if 
not  at  home,  I  might  ex])ect  the  satisfaction  of  a  return  of  tlio 
visit  by  the  devil  in  person. 


12  TRIES  TO  RAISE  THE  DEVIL. 

Accordingly,  having  selected  a  promising  locality,  I  went 
one  evening  towards  dusk  up  into  a  deserted  garret  Having 
closed  the  door,  and  I  believe  opened  the  window,  I  proceeded 
to  cut  my  finger  and  draw  a  circle  on  the  floor  with  the  blood 
which  flowed  from  the  incision. 

I  then  placed  myself  in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  and  either 
said  or  read  the  Lord's  Prayer  backwards.  This  I  accom- 
plished at  first  with  some  trepidation  and  in  great  fear 
towards  the  close  of  the  scene.  I  then  stood  still  in  the 
centre  of  that  magic  and  superstitious  circle,  looking  with 
intense  anxiety  in  aU  directions,  especially  at  the  window  and 
at  the  chimney.  Fortunately  for  myself,  and  for  the  reader 
also,  if  he  is  interested  in  this  narrative,  no  owl  or  black  cat 
or  unlucky  raven  came  into  the  room. 

In  either  case  my  then  weakened  frame  might  have  ex- 
piated tliis  foolish  experiment  by  its  own  extinction,  or  by 
the  alienation  of  that  too  curious  spirit  which  controlled  its 
feeble  powers. 

After  waiting  some  time  for  my  expected  but  dreaded 
visitor,  I,  in  some  degree,  recovered  my  self-possession,  and 
leaving  the  circle  of  my  incantation,  I  gradually  opened  the 
door  and  gently  closing  it,  descended  the  stairs,  at  first 
slowly,  and  by  degrees  much  more  quickly.  I  then  rejoined 
my  companions,  but  said  notliing  whatever  of  my  recent 
attempt  After  supper  the  boys  retired  to  bed.  When  we 
were  in  bed  and  the  candle  removed,  I  proceeded  as  usual 
to  repeat  my  prayers  silently  to  myselt  After  the  few  first 
sentences  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  I  found  that  I  had  forgotten  a 
sentence,  and  could  not  go  on  to  the  conclusion.  Tliis 
alarmed  me  very  much,  and  having  repeated  another  prayer 
or  hymn,  I  remained  long  awake,  and  very  unhappy.  I 
thought  that  this  forgetfulness  was  u  punishment  inflicted 


EXPERIMENTAL  RELIGION.  18 

upon  me  by  the  Almighty,  and  that  I  was  a  wicked  little 
boy  for  having  attempted  to  satisfy  myself  about  the  exist, 
ence  of  a  deviL  The  next  night  my  memory  was  more 
faithful,  and  my  prayers  went  on  as  usuaL  Still,  however,  I 
was  unhappy,  and  continued  to  brood  over  the  inquiry.  My 
uninstmcted  faculties  led  me  from  doubts  of  the  existence  of 
a  devil  to  doubts  of  the  book  and  the  religion  which  asserted 
him  to  be  a  living  being.  My  sense  of  justice  (whether  it  be 
innate  or  acquired)  led  me  to  believe  that  it  was  impossible 
that  an  almighty  and  all-merciful  God  could  punish  me,  a 
poor  little  boy,  with  eternal  torments  because  I  had  anxiously 
taken  the  only  means  I  knew  of  to  verify  the  truth  or  false- 
hood of  the  religion  I  had  been  taught.  I  thought  over 
these  things  for  a  long  time,  and,  in  my  own  childish  mind, 
wished  and  prayed  that  God  would  tell  me  what  was  true. 
After  long  meditation,  I  resolved  to  make  an  experiment 
to  settle  the  question.  I  thought,  if  it  was  really  of  such 
immense  importance  to  me  here  and  hereafter  to  believe 
rightly,  that  the  Almighty  would  not  consign  me  to  eternal 
misery  because,  after  trying  all  means  that  I  could  devise,  I 
was  unable  to  know  the  truth.  I  took  an  odd  mode  of 
making  the  experiment ;  I  resolved  that  at  a  certain  hour  of 
a  certain  day  I  would  go  to  a  certain  room  in  the  house,  and 
that  if  I  found  the  door  open,  I  would  believe  the  Bible ;  but 
that  if  it  were  closed,  I  should  conclude  that  it  was  not  true. 
I  remember  well  that  the  observation  was  made,  but  I  have 
no  recollection  as  to  the  state  of  the  door.  I  presume  it  was 
found  open  from  the  circumstance  that,  for  many  years  after, 
I  was  no  longer  troubled  by  doubts,  and  indeed  went  through 
the  usual  religious  forms  with  very  little  thought  about  their 
origin. 

At  length,  as  time  went  on,  my  bodily  health  was  restored 


14  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

by  ray  native  air:  my  mind,  however,  receiving  but  little  in- 
struction, began,  I  imagine,  to  prey  upon  itself — such  at  least 
I  infer  to  have  been  the  case  from  the  following  circumstance. 
One  day,  when  uninterested  in  the  sports  of  my  little  com- 
panions, I  had  retired  into  the  shrubbery  and  was  leaning  my 
head,  supported  by  my  left  arm,  upon  the  lower  branch  of  a 
thorn-tree.  Listless  and  unoccupied,  I  imagined  I  had  a 
head-ache.  After  a  time  I  perceived,  lying  on  the  ground 
just  under  me,  a  small  bright  bit  of  metal.  I  instantly  seized 
the  precious  discovery,  and  turning  it  over,  examined  both 
sides.  I  immediately  concluded  that  I  had  discovered  some 
valuable  treasure,  and  running  away  to  my  deserted  com- 
panions, showed  them  my  golden  coin.  The  little  company 
became  greatly  excited,  and  declared  that  it  must  be  gold, 
and  that  it  was  a  piece  of  money  of  great  value.  We  ran  off 
to  get  the  opinion  of  the  usher ;  but  whether  he  partook  of 
the  delusion,  or  we  acquired  our  knowledge  from  the  higher 
authority  of  the  master,  I  know  not  I  only  recollect  the 
entire  dissipation  of  my  head-ache,  and  then  my  ultimate 
great  disappointment  when  it  was  pronounced,  upon  the  un- 
doubted authority  of  the  village  doctor,  that  the  square  piece 
of  brass  I  had  found  was  a  half-dram  weight  wliich  had 
escaped  from  the  box  of  a  pair  of  medical  scales.  This  little 
incident  had  an  important  effect  upon  my  after-life.  I  re- 
flected upon  the  extraordinary  fact,  that  my  head-ache  had 
been  entirely  cured  by  the  discovery  of  the  piece  of  brass. 
Althougli  I  may  not  have  put  into  words  the  principle, 
ihat  occupation  of  the  mind  is  such  a  source  of  pleasure  thai 
U  can  relieve  even  the  pain  of  a  head-^iche ;  yet  I  am  sure  it 
practically  gave  au  additional  stimulus  to  me  in  many  u 
difficult  inquiry.  Some  few  years  after,  when  suffering 
under  a  form  of  tooth-ache,   not    acute  though  tediously 


COMPACT  TO  APPEAR  AFTER  DEATH.       15 

wearingy  I  often  had  recourse  to  a  volume  of  Don  Quixote, 
and  still  more  frequently  to  one  of  Bobinson  Crusoe.  Al- 
though, at  first  it  required  a  painful  effort  of  attention,  yet 
it  almost  always  happened,  after  a  time,  that  I  had  forgotten 
the  moderate  pain  in  the  overpowering  interest  of  the  novel. 

My  most  intimate  companion  and  friend  was  a  boy  named 
Dacres,  the  son  of  Admiral  Richard  Dacres.  We  had  often 
talked  over  such  questions  as  those  I  have  mentioned  in 
this  chapter,  and  we  had  made  an  agreement  that  whichever 
died  first  should,  if  possible,  appear  to  the  other  after  death, 
in  order  to  satisfy  the  survivor  about  their  solution. 

After  a  year  or  two  my  young  friend  entered  the  navy, 
but  we  kept  up  our  friendship,  and  when  he  was  ashore  I  saw 
liim  frequently.  He  was  in  a  ship  of  eighty  guns  at  the 
passage  of  the  Dardanelles,  under  the  command  of  Sir 
Thomas  Duckworth.  Ultimately  he  was  sent  home  in 
charge  of  a  prize-ship,  in  which  he  suffered  the  severest 
hardships  during  a  long  and  tempestuous  voyage,  and  then 
died  of  consumption. 

I  saw  him  a  few  days  before  his  death,  at  the  age  of  about 
eighteen.  We  talked  of  former  times,  but  neitlier  of  us  men- 
tioned the  compact  I  believe  it  occurred  to  his  mind:  it 
was  certainly  strongly  present  to  my  own. 

He  died  a  few  days  after.  On  the  evening  of  that  day  I 
retired  to  my  ovm  room,  which  was  partially  detached  from 
the  house  by  an  intervening  conservatory.  I  sat  up  until 
after  midnight,  endeavouring  to  read,  but  found  it  impossible 
to  fix  my  attention  on  any  subject,  except  the  overpowering 
feeling  of  curiosity,  which  absorbed  my  mind.  I  then  un- 
dressed and  went  into  bed ;  but  sleep  was  entirely  banished. 
I  had  previously  carefully  examined  whether  any  cat,  bird, 
or  living  animal  might  be  accidentally  concealeil  in  my  room. 


16  DID  NOT  APPEAR. 

and  I  had  studied  the  fonuB  of  the  fiirmtare  lest  they  should 
in  the  darkness  mislead  me. 

I  passed  a  night  of  perfect  sleeplessness.  The  distant  dock 
and  a  faithful  dog,  just  outside  my  own  door,  produced  the 
only  sounds  which  disturbed  the  intense  silence  of  that 
anxious  night 


CHAPTER  m. 

BOYHOOD, 

Taken  to  an  Exhibition  of  Mechanism — Silver  Ladies — School  near  Tx>ndoii 
— ^Unjustly  punished — Injurious  Effect — ^Ward's  Young  Mathematician's 
Guide — Gk)t  up  in  the  Night  to  Study — Frederick  Marryat  interrupts — 
Treaty  of  Peace — ^Found  out — Strange  Effect  of  Treacle  and  Cognac  on 
Boys — ^Taught  to  write  Sermons  under  the  Rev.  Charles  Simeon. 

DuBiNO  my  boyhood  my  mother  took  me  to  several  exhi- 
bitions of  machinery.  I  well  remember  one  of  them  in 
Hanover  Square,  by  a  man  who  called  himself  Merlin.  I 
was  so  greatly  interested  in  it,  that  the  Exhibitor  remarked 
the  circumstance,  and  after  explaining  some  of  the  objects 
to  which  the  public  had  access,  proposed  to  my  mother  to 
take  me  up  to  his  workshop,  where  I  should  see  still  more 
wonderful  automata.  We  accordingly  ascended  to  the 
attic.  There  were  two  uncovered  female  figures  of  silver, 
about  twelve  inches  high. 

One  of  these  walked  or  rather  glided  along  a  space  of 
about  four  feet,  when  she  turned  round  and  went  back  to  her 
original  place.  She  used  an  eye-glass  occasionally,  and 
bowed  frequently,  as  if  recognizing  her  acquaintances.  The 
motions  of  her  limbs  were  singularly  graceful. 

The  other  silver  figure  was  an  admirable  danseu^e,  with  a 
bird  on  the  fore  finger  of  her  right  hand,  which  wagged  its 
tail,  flapped  its  wings,  and  opened  its  beak.  This  lady  atti- 
tudinized in  a  most  fascinating  manner.  Her  eyes  were  full 
of  imagination,  and  irresistible. 

c 


18  UNJUST  PUNISHMENT. 

These  silver  figures  were  the  chef-d'oeuvres  of  the  artist : 
they  had  cost  him  years  of  unwearied  labour,  and  were  not 
even  then  finished. 

After  I  left  Devonshire  I  was  placed  at  a  school  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  London,  in  which  there  were  about  thirty 
boys. 

My  first  experience  was  unfortunate,  and  probably  gave  an 
unfavourable  turn  to  ray  whole  career  during  my  residence  of 
three  years. 

After  I  had  been  at  school  a  few  weeks,  I  went  with  one  of 
my  companions  into  the  play-ground  in  the  dusk  of  the  even- 
ing. We  heard  a  noise,  as  of  people  talking  in  an  orchard 
at  some  distance,  which  belonged  to  our  master.  As  the 
orchard  had  recently  been  robbed,  we  thought  that  thieves 
were  again  at  work.  Wo  accordingly  climbed  over  the 
boundary  wall,  ran  across  the  field,  and  saw  in  the  orchard 
beyond  a  couple  of  fellows  evidently  running  away.  We 
pursued  as  fast  as  our  legs  could  carry  us,  and  just  got  up  to 
the  supposed  thieves  at  the  ditch  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
orchard. 

A  roar  of  laughter  then  greeted  us  from  two  of  our  own 
companions,  who  had  entered  the  orchard  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  some  manure  for  their  flowers  out  of  a  rotten  mul- 
berry-tree. These  boys  were  aware  of  our  mistake,  and  had 
humoured  it. 

We  now  returned  all  together  towards  the  play-ground, 
when  we  met  our  master,  who  immediately  pronounced  that 
we  were  each  fined  one  shilling  for  being  out  of  bounds. 
We  two  boys  who  had  gone  out  of  bounds  to  protect 
our  master  8  property,  and  who  if  thieves  had  really 
been  there  would  probably  have  been  half-killed  by  them, 
attempted  to  remonstrate   and  explain  the   case  ;   but  all 


NIGHT-WORK.  19 

remonstrance  was  vain,  and  we  were  accordingly  fined.    I 
never  forgot  that  injustice. 

The  school-room  adjoined  the  house,  but  was  not  directly 
connected  with  it  It  contained  a  library  of  about  three 
hundred  volumes  on  various  subjects,  generally  very  well 
selected ;  it  also  contained  one  or  two  works  on  subjects  which 
do  not  usuaUy  attract  at  that  period  of  life.  I  derived  much 
advantage  &om  this  library ;  and  I  now  mention  it  because 
I  think  it  of  great  importance  that  a  library  should  exist  in 
every  school-room. 

Amongst  the  books  was  a  treatise  on  Algebra,  called 
"Ward's  Young  Mathematician's  Guide."  I  was  always 
partial  to  my  arithmetical  lessons,  but  this  book  attracted 
my  particular  attention.  After  I  had  been  at  this  school  for 
about  a  twelvemonth,  I  proposed  to  one  of  my  school-fellows, 
who  was  of  a  studious  habit,  that  we  should  get  up  every 
morning  at  three  o'clock,  light  a  fire  in  the  school-room,  and 
work  until  five  or  half-past  fiva  We  acccomplished  this 
pretty  regularly  for  several  months.  Our  plan  had,  however, 
become  partially  known  to  a  few  of  our  companions.  One 
of  these,  a  tall  boy,  bigger  than  ourselves,  having  heard 
of  it,  asked  me  to  allow  him  to  get  up  with  us,  urging  that 
his  sole  object  was  to  study,  and  that  it  would  be  of  great 
importance  to  him  in  after-life.  I  had  the  cruelty  to  refuse 
this  very  reasonable  request.  The  subject  has  often  recurred 
to  my  memory,  but  never  without  regret 

Another  of  my  young  companions,  Frederick  Marryat,* 
made  the  same  request,  but  not  with  the  same  motive.  I 
told  him  we  got  up  in  order  to  work ;  that  he  would  only 
play,  and  that  we  should  then  be  found  out  After  some  time, 
having  exhausted  all  his  arguments,  Marryat  told  me  he  was 
*  Afterwards  Captain  Marryat. 

c  2 


20  RIVAL  COMPETITORS. 

determined  to  get  up,  and  would  do  it  whether  I  liked  it  or 
not. 

Marryat  slept  in  the  same  room  as  myself:  it  contained 
five  beds.  Our  room  opened  upon  a  landing,  and  its  door 
was  exactly  op[)osite  that  of  the  master.  A  flight  of  stairs 
led  up  to  a  passage  just  over  the  room  in  which  the  master 
and  mistress  slept.  Passing  along  this  passage,  another  flight 
of  stairs  led  down,  on  the  other  side  of  the  master's  bed-room, 
to  another  landing,  from  which  another  flight  of  stairs  led 
down  to  the  external  door  of  the  house,  leading  by  a  long 
passage  to  the  school-room. 

Through  this  devious  course  I  had  cautiously  threaded  my 
way,  calling  up  my  companion  in  his  room  at  the  top  of  the 
last  flight  of  stairs,  almost  every  night  for  several  montlis. 

One  night  on  trying  to  open  the  door  of  my  own  bed-room, 
I  found  Marryat's  bed  projecting  a  little  before  the  door,  so 
that  I  coidd  not  open  it.  I  perceived  that  this  was  done 
purposely,  in  order  that  I  might  awaken  him.  I  therefore 
cautiously,  and  by  degrees,  pushed  his  bed  back  witliout 
awaking  him,  and  went  as  usual  to  my  work.  This  occurred 
two  or  three  niglits  successively. 

One  night,  however,  I  found  a  piece  of  pack-thread  tied  to 
the  door  lock,  which  I  traced  to  Marryat's  bed,  and  concluded 
it  was  tied  to  his  arm  or  hand.  I  merely  untied  the  cord 
from  the  lock,  and  passed  on. 

A  few  nights  after  I  found  it  impossible  to  untie  the  cord, 
80  I  cut  it  with  my  pocket-knife.  The  cord  then  became 
tliicker  and  thicker  for  several  nights,  but  still  my  pen-knife 
did  its  work. 

One  night  I  found  a  small  chain  fixed  to  the  lock,  and 
passing  thence  into  jVIarryat's  bed.  This  defeated  my  eflbrts 
for  that  night,  and  I  retired  to  my  own  bed.     Tlie  next  niglit 


VARIOUS  STRATAGEMS.  21 

I  was  provided  with  a  pair  of  plyers,  and  unbent  one  of  the 
links,  leaving  the  two  portions  attached  to  Marryat's  arm 
and  to  the  lock  of  the  door.  This  occurred  several  times, 
varying  by  stouter  chains,  and  by  having  a  padlock  which  I 
could  not  pick  in  the  dark. 

At  last  one  morning  I  found  a  chain  too  strong  for  the 
tools  I  possessed ;  so  I  retired  to  my  own  bed,  defeated.  The 
next  night,  however,  I  provided  myself  with  a  ball  of  pack- 
thread. As  soon  as  I  heard  by  his  breathing  that  Marryat 
was  asleep,  I  crept  over  to  the  door,  drew  one  end  of  my 
ball  of  packthread  through  a  link  of  the  too-powerful  chain, 
and  bringing  it  back  with  me  to  bed,  gave  it  a  sudden  jerk 
by  pulling  both  ends  of  the  packthread  passing  through  the 
link  of  the  chain. 

Marryat  jumped  up,  put  out  his  hand  to  the  door,  found 
his  chain  all  right,  and  then  lay  down.  As  soon  as  he  was 
asleep  again,  I  repeated  the  operation.  Having  awakened 
liim  for  the  third  time,  I  let  go  one  end  of  the  string,  and 
drew  it  back  by  the  other,  so  that  he  was  imable  at  daylight 
to  detect  the  cause. 

At  last^  however,  I  found  it  expedient  to  enter  into  a  treaty 
of  peace,  the  basis  of  which  was  that  I  should  allow  Marryat  to 
join  the  night  party ;  but  that  nobody  else  should  be  admitted. 
This  continued  for  a  short  time ;  but,  one  by  one,  three  or 
four  other  boys,  friends  of  Marryat,  joined  our  party,  and,  as 
I  had  anticipated,  no  work  was  done.  We  all  got  to  play ; 
we  let  off  fire-works  in  the  play-ground,  and  were  of  course 
discovered. 

Our  master  read  us  a  very  grave  lecture  at  breakfast  upon 
the  impropriety  of  this  irregular  system  of  turning  night  into 
day,  and  pointed  out  its  injurious  effects  upon  the  health. 
This,  lie  said,  was  so  remarkable  that  he  could  distinguish  by 


22  FOUND  OUT. 

their  pallid  countenances  those  who  had  taken  part  in  it 
Now  he  certainly  did  point  out  every  boy  who  had  been  up 
on  the  night  we  were  detected.  But  it  appeard  to  me  very  odd 
that  the  same  means  of  judging  had  not  enabled  him  long 
before  to  discover  the  two  boys  who  had  for  several  months 
habitually  practised  this  system  of  turning  night  into  day. 

Another  of  our  pranks  never  received  its  solution  in  our 
master's  mind  ;  indeed  I  myself  scarcely  knew  its  early  his- 
tory. Somehow  or  other,  a  Bussian  young  gentleman,  who 
was  a  parlour-boarder,  had  I  believe,  expatiated  to  Marryat 
on  the  virtues  of  Cognac. 

One  evening  my  Mend  came  to  me  with  a  quart  bottle  of 
what  he  called  excellent  stuff.  A  council  was  held  amongst 
a  few  of  us  boys  to  decide  how  we  should  dispose  of  this 
treasure.  I  did  not  myself  much  admire  the  liquid,  but  sug- 
gested that  it  might  be  very  good  when  mixed  up  with  a  lot 
of  treacla  This  thought  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  a 
subscription  made  to  purchase  the  treacle.  Having  no  vessel 
sufficiently  large  to  hold  the  intended  mixture,  I  proposed 
to  take  one  of  our  garden-pots,  stopping  up  the  hole  in  its 
bottom  with  a  cork. 

A  good  big  earthen  vessel,  thus  extemporised,  was  then 
filled  with  this  wonderful  mixture.  A  spoon  or  two,  an  oyster- 
shell,  and  various  other  contrivances  delivered  it  to  its  nu- 
merous consumers,  and  all  the  boys  got  a  greater  or  less 
share,  according  to  their  taste  for  this  extraordinary  Uqueur. 

The  feast  was  over,  the  garden-pot  was  restored  to  its 
owner,  and  the  treacled  lips  of  the  boys  had  been  wiped  with 
their  hankerchiefs  or  on  their  coat-sleeves,  when  the  bell  an- 
nounced that  it  was  prayer-time.  We  all  knelt  in  silence  at 
our  respective  desks.  As  soon  as  the  prayers  were  over,  one 
of  the  oddest  scenes  occurred. 


EFFECT  OF  COGNAC.  23 

Many  boys  rose  np  from  their  knees — ^but  some  fell  down 
again.  Some  turned  round  several  times,  and  then  fell. 
Some  turned  round  so  often  that  they  resembled  spinning 
dervishes.  Others  were  only  more  stupid  than  usual ;  some 
complained  of  being  sick  ;  many  were  very  sleepy ;  others 
were  sound  asleep,  and  had  to  be  carried  to  bed;  some 
talked  fast  and  heroically,  two  attempted  psalmody,  but  none 
listened. 

All  investigation  at  the  time  was  useless :  we  were  sent  off 
to  bed  as  quickly  as  possible.  It  was  only  known  that  Count 
Cognac  had  married  the  sweet  Miss  Treacle,  whom  all  the 
boys  knew  and  loved,  and  who  lodged  at  the  grocer's,  in  the 
neighbouring  village.  But  I  believe  neither  the  pedigree  of 
the  bridegroom  nor  his  domicile  were  ever  discovered.  It  is 
probable  that  he  was  of  French  origin,  and  dwelt  in  a  cellar. 

After  I  left  this  school  I  was  for  a  few  years  under  the 
care  of  an  excellent  clergyman  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cambridge.  There  were  only  six  boys ;  but  I  fear  I  did  not 
derive  from  it  all  the  advantage  that  I  might  have  done.  I 
came  into  frequent  contact  with  the  Kev.  Charles  Simeon, 
and  with  many  of  his  enthusiastic  disciples.  Every  Sunday 
I  had  to  write  from  memory  an  abstract  of  the  sermon  he 
preached  in  our  village.  Even  at  that  period  of  my  life 
I  had  a  taste  for  generalization.  Accordingly,  having  gene- 
ralized some  of  Mr.  Simeon's  sermons  up  to  a  kind  of  skeleton 
form,  I  tried,  by  way  of  experiment,  to  fill  up  such  a  form  in 
a  sermon  of  my  own  composing  from  the  text  of  "  Alexander 
^'  the  coppersmith  hath  done  us  much  harm."  As  well  as  I 
remember,  there  were  in  my  sermon  some  queer  deductions 
from  this  text ;  but  then  they  fulfilled  all  the  usual  conditions 
of  our  sermons :  so  thought  also  two  of  my  companions  to 
whom  I  communicated  in  confidence  this  new  manufacture. 


24  COMPOSES  SERMONS. 

By  some  unexplained  ciFcumstance  my  sermon  relating  to 
copper  being  isomorphous  with  Simeon's  own  productions, 
got  by  substitution  into  the  hands  of  our  master  as  the 
recollections  of  one  of  the  other  boys.  Thereupon  arose  an 
awful  explosion  which  I  decline  to  paint 

I  did,  however,  leam  something  at  this  school,  for  I  observed 
a  striking  illustration  of  the  Economy  of  Manufactures. 
Mr.  Simeon  had  the  cure  of  a  very  wicked  parish  in  Cam- 
bridge, whilst  my  instructor  held  that  of  a  tolerably  decent 
country  village.  If  each  minister  had  stuck  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  own  parish,  it  would  have  necessitated  the  manu- 
facture of  four  sermons  per  week,  whilst,  by  this  beneficial 
interchange  of  duties,  only  two  were  required. 

Each  congregation  enjoyed  also  another  advantage  from 
this  arrangement — ^the  advantage  of  variety,  which,  when 
moderately  indulged  in,  excites  the  appetite. 


CHAPTER  IV- 

CAMBRIDGE. 

Universal  Language — Purchase  Lacroix^s  Quarto  Work  on  tlie  Integral 
Calculus — Disappointment  on  getting  no  explanation  of  my  Mathe- 
matical Difficulties — Origin  of  the  Analytical  Society — llie  Ghost  Club 
— Chess — Sixpenny  Whist  and  Guinea  Whist — ^Boating — Chemistry — 
Elected  Lucasian  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  1828. 

My  father,  with  a  view  of  acquiring  some  information 
which  might  be  of  use  to  me  at  Cambridge,  had  consulted  a 
tutor  of  one  of  the  colleges,  who  was  passing  his  long  vaca- 
tion at  the  neighbouring  watering-place,  Teignmouth.  He 
dined  with  us  frequently.  The  advice  of  the  Eev.  Doctor 
was  quite  sound,  but  very  limited.  It  might  be  summed  up 
in  one  short  sentence :  ''  Advise  your  son  not  to  purchase  his 
wine  in  Cambridge." 

Previously  to  my  entrance  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
I  resided  for  a  time  at  Totnes,  under  the  guidance  of  an 
Oxford  tutor,  who  undertook  to  superintend  my  classical 
studies  only. 

During  my  residence  at  this  place  I  accidentally  heard,  for 
the  first  time,  of  an  idea  of  forming  a  universal  language.  I 
was  much  fascinated  by  it,  and,  soon  after,  proceeded  to 
write  a  kind  of  grammar,  and  then  to  devise  a  dictionary. 
Some  trace  of  the  former,  I  think,  I  still  possess :  but  I  was 
stopped  in  my  idea  of  making  a  universal  dictionary  by  the 
apparent  impossibility  of  arranging  signs  in  any  consecutive 


26  PURCHASE  THE  WORK  OF  LACROIX. 

order,  so  as  to  find,  as  in  a  dictionary,  the  meaning  of  each 
when  wanted.  It  was  only  aft6r  I  had  been  some  time  at 
Cambridge  that  I  became  acquainted  with  the  work  of 
"  Bishop  Wilkins  on  Universal  Language." 

Being  passionately  fond  of  algebra,  I  had  instructed  my- 
self by  means  of  Ward's  "  Young  Mathematician's  Guide," 
which  had  casually  fallen  into  my  hands  at  school.  I  now 
employed  all  my  leisure  in  studying  such  mathematical 
works  as  accident  brought  to  my  knowledge.  Amongst  these 
were  Humphrey  Ditton's  "  Fluxions,"  of  wliich  I  could  make 
nothing;  Madame  Agnesi's  ** Analytical  Institutions,"  from 
which  I  acquired  some  knowledge  ;  Woodhouse's  "  Principles 
of  Analytical  Calculation,"  from  which  I  learned  the  notation 
of  Leibnitz;  and  Lagrange's  "Thforie  des  Fonctions."  I 
possessed  also  the  Fluxions  of  Maclaurin  and  of  Simpson. 

Thus  it  happened  that  when  I  went  to  Cambridge  I  could 
work  out  such  questions  as  the  very  moderate  amoimt  of 
mathematics  which  I  then  possessed  admitted,  with  equal 
fiEiciUty,  in  the  dots  of  Newton,  the  d's  of  Leibnitz,  or  the 
dashes  of  Ijagrange.  I  had,  however,  met  with  many  dif- 
ficulties, and  looked  forward  with  intense  delight  to  the 
certainty  of  having  them  all  removed  on  my  arrival  at  Cam- 
bridge. I  had  in  my  imagination  formed  a  plan  for  tlie 
institution  amongst  my  future  friends  of  a  chess  club,  and 
also  of  another  club  for  the  discussion  of  mathematical 
subjects. 

In  1811,  during  the  war,  it  was  very  difficult  to  procure 
foreign  books.  I  had  heard  of  the  great  work  of  Lacroix, 
on  the  «  Difierential  and  Integral  Calculus,"  which  I  longed 
to  possess,  and  being  misinformed  that  its  price  was  two 
guineas,  I  resolved  to  purchase  it  in  London  on  my  passage 
to  Cambridge.     As  soon  as  I  arrived  I  went  to  the  French 


DIFFICULTIES  NOT  ANSWERED.  27 

bookseller,  Dulau,  and  to  my  great  surprise  found  that  the 
price  of  the  book  was  seven  guineas.  After  much  thought 
I  made  the  costly  purchase,  went  on  immediately  to  Cam- 
bridge, saw  my  tutor  Hudson,  got  lodgings,  and  then  spent 
the  greater  part  of  the  night  in  turning  over  the  pages  of  my 
newly-acquired  purchase.  After  a  few  days,  I  went  to  my 
public  tutor  Hudson,  to  ask  the  explanation  of  one  of  my 
mathematical  difficulties.  He  listened  to  my  question,  said  it 
would  not  be  asked  in  the  Senate  House,  and  was  of  no  sort 
of  consequence,  and  advised  me  to  get  up  the  earlier  sub- 
jects of  the  university  studies. 

Aifter  some  little  while  I  went  to  ask  the  explanation  of 
another  difficulty  from  one  of  the  lecturers.  He  treated  the 
question  just  in  the  same  way.  I  made  a  third  effort  to  be 
enlightened  about  what  was  really  a  doubtful  question,  and 
felt  satisfied  that  the  person  I  addressed  knew  nothing  of 
the  matter,  although  he  took  some  pains  to  disguise  his 
ignorance. 

I  thus  acquired  a  distaste  for  the  routine  of  the  studies  of 
the  place,  and  devoured  the  papers  of  Euler  and  other 
mathematicians,  scattered  through  innumerable  volumes  of 
the  academies  of  Petersburgh,  Berlin,  and  Paris,  which  the 
libraries  I  had  recourse  to  contained. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  not  surprising  that  I 
should  perceive  and  be  penetrated  with  the  superior  power 
of  the  notation  of  Leibnitz. 

At  an  early  period,  probably  at  the  commencement  of  the 
second  year  of  my  residence  at  Cambridge,  a  friend  of  mine, 
Michael  Slegg,  of  Trinity,  was  taking  wine  with  me,  dis- 
cussing mathematical  subjects,  to  which  he  also  was  enthu- 
siastically attached.  Hearing  the  chapel  bell  ring,  he  took 
leave  of  me,  promising  to  return  for  a  cup  of  coffee. 


28  RESULT  OF  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

At  this  period  Cambridge  was  agitated  by  a  fien^e  con- 
troversy. Societies  had  been  formed  for  printing  and  circu- 
lating the  Bible.  One  party  proposed  to  circulate  it  with 
notes,  in  order  to  make  it  intelligible;  whilst  the  other 
scornfully  rejected  all  explanations  of  the  word  of  God  as 
profane  attempts  to  mend  that  which  was  perfect 

The  walls  of  the  town  were  placarded  with  broadsides,  and 
posters  were  sent  from  house  to  house.  One  of  the  latter 
form  of  advertisement  was  lying  upon  my  table  when  Slegg 
left  me.  Taking  up  the  paper,  and  looking  tlirough  it,  I 
thought  it,  from  its  exaggerated  tone,  a  good  subject  for  a 
parody. 

I  then  drew  up  the  sketch  of  a  society  to  be  instituted  for 
translating  the  small  work  of  Lacroix  on  the  Diflferential  and 
Integral  Lacroix.  It  proposed  that  we  should  have  peri- 
odical meetings  for  the  propagation  of  d's ;  and  consigned  to 
perdition  all  who  supported  the  heresy  of  dots.  It  maintained 
that  the  work  of  Lacroix  was  so  perfect  that  any  comment 
was  unnecessary. 

On  Slegg's  return  from  chapel  I  put  the  parody  into  his 
hands.  My  friend  enjoyed  the  joke  heartily,  and  at  parting 
asked  my  permission  to  show  the  parody  to  a  mathematical 
friend  of  his,  Mr.  Bromhead.* 

The  next  day  Slegg  called  on  me,  and  said  that  he  had 
put  the  joke  into  the  hand  of  his  friend,  who,  after  laughing 
heartily,  remarked  that  it  was  too  good  a  joke  to  be  lost, 
and  proposed  seriously  that  we  should  form  a  society  for  the 
cultivation  of  mathematics. 

The  next  day  Bromhead  called  on  me.  We  talked  the 
subject  over,  and  agreed  tf»  hold  a  meeting  at  his  lodgings 

•  Afterwards  Sir  Edward  Ffrench  Bromhead,  Bar*.,  the  author  of  an 
iutercating  paiicr  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society. 


ANALYTICAL  SOCIETY.  29 

for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  society  for  the  promotion  of 
analysis. 

At  that  meeting,  besides  the  projectors,  there  were  present 
Herschel,  Peacock,  D'Arblay,*  Ryan,t  Eobinson,J  Frederick 
Manle,§  and  several  others.  We  constituted  ourselves  "  The 
Analytical  Society ;"  hired  a  meeting-room,  open  daily ;  held 
meetings,  read  papers,  and  discussed  them.  Of  course  we 
were  much  ridiculed  by  the  Dons ;  and,  not  being  put  down, 
it  was  darkly  hinted  that  we  were  young  infidels,  and  that  no 
good  would  come  of  us. 

In  the  meantime  we  quietly  pursued  our  course,  and  at 
last  resolved  to  publish  a  volume  of  our  Transactions.  Owing 
to  the  illness  of  one  of  the  number,  and  to  various  other 
circumstances,  the  volume  which  was  published  was  entirely 
contributed  by  Herschel  and  myself. 

At  last  our  work  was  printed,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
decide  upon  a  title.  Becalling  the  slight  imputation  which 
had  been  made  upon  oiu*  faith,  I  suggested  that  the  most 
appropriate  title  would  be — 

The  Principles  of  pure  D-ism  in  opposition  to  the  Dot-age 
of  the  University.  B 

In  thus  reviving  this  wicked  pun,  I  ought  at  the  same 
time  to  record  an  instance  of  forgiveness  unparalleled  in 
history.  Fourteen  years  after,  being  then  at  Bome,  I  acci- 
dentally read  in  Galignani's  newspaper  the  following  para- 
graph, dated  Cambridge : — "  Yesterday  the  bells  of  St  Mary 
rang  on  the  election  of  Mr.  Babbage  as  Lucasian  Professor 
of  Mathematics.*" 

♦  The  only  Bon  of  Madamo  D'Arblay. 
t  Now  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Edward  Ryan. 
t  The  Rev.  Dr.  Robinson,  Master  of  the  Temple. 
§  A  younger  brother  of  the  late  Mr.  Justice  Maule. 
i  Leibniti  indicated  fluxions  by  a  d,  Newton  by  a  dot. 


30  ELECTED  LUCASIAN  PROFESSOR. 

If  this  event  had  happened  during  the  lifetime  of  my 
fether,  it  would  have  been  most  gratifying  to  myself,  because, 
whilst  it  would  have  given  him  much  pleasure,  it  would  then 
also  have  afforded  intense  delight  to  my  mother. 

I  concluded  that  the  next  post  would  bring  me  the  official 
confirmation  of  this  report,  and  after  some  consideration  I 
sketched  the  draft  of  a  letter,  in  which  I  proposed  to  thank 
the  University  sincerely  for  the  honour  they  had  done  me, 
but  to  decline  it 

This  sketch  of  a  letter  was  hardly  dry  when  two  of  my 
intimate  friends,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Lunn  and  Mr.  Beilby  Thomp- 
son,* who  resided  close  to  me  in  the  Piazza  del  l^opulo,  came 
over  to  congratulate  me  on  the  appointment.  I  showed  them 
my  proposed  reply,  against  which  they  earnestly  protested. 
Their  first,  and  as  they  believed  their  strongest,  reason  was 
that  it  would  give  so  much  pleasure  to  my  mother.  To  this 
I  answered  that  my  mother's  opinion  of  her  son  had  been 
confirmed  by  the  reception  he  had  met  with  in  every  foreign 
country  he  had  visited,  and  that  this,  in  her  estimation,  would 
add  but  little  to  it  To  their  next  argument  I  had  no  satis- 
factory answer.  It  was  that  this  election  could  not  have 
occurred  unless  some  friends  of  mine  in  England  had  taken 
active  measures  to  promote  it ;  that  some  of  these  might  have 
been  personal  friends^  but  that  many  others  might  have 
exerted  themselves  entirely  upon  principle,  and  that  it  would 
be  harsh  to  disappoint  such  fiends,  and  reject  such  a  compli- 
ment 

My  own  feelings  were  of  a  mixed  nature.    I  saw  the  vast 

field  that  the  Difference  Engine  had  opened  out ;  for,  before 

I  left  England  in  the  previous  year,  I  had  extended   its 

mechanism  to  the  tabulation  of  functions  having  no  constant 

•  Afterwards  Lord  Wenlock. 


FIRST  EXAMINATION.  31 

difference,  and  more  particularly  I  had  arrived  at  the  know- 
ledge of  the  entire  command  it  would  have  over  the  compu- 
tation of  the  most  important  classes  of  tables,  those  of  astro- 
nomy and  of  navigation.  I  was  also  most  anxious  to  give 
my  whole  time  to  the  completion  of  the  mechanism  of  the 
Difference  Engine  No.  1  which  I  had  then  in  hand.  Small 
as  the  admitted  duties  of  the  Lucasian  Chair  were,  I  felt  that 
they  would  absorb  time  which  I  thought  better  devoted  to 
the  completion  of  the  Difference  Engine.  If  I  had  then  been 
aware  that  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  would  have  thrown  upon 
me  the  enormous  labour  which  the  Analytical  Engine  ab- 
sorbed, no  motive  short  of  absolute  necessity  would  have 
induced  me  to  accept  any  office  which  might,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  withdraw  my  attention  from  its  contrivance. 

The  result  of  this  consultation  with  my  two  friends  was, 
that  I  determined  to  accept  the  Chair  of  Newton,  and  to  hold 
it  for  a  few  years.  In  1839  the  demands  of  the  Analytical 
Engine  upon  my  attention  had  become  so  incessant  and  so 
exhausting,  that  even  the  few  duties  of  the  Lucasian  Chair 
had  a  sensible  effect  in  impairing  my  bodily  strengtlu  I 
therefore  sent  in  my  resignation. 

In  January,  1829, 1  visited  Cambridge,  to  fulfil  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  my  new  office,  the  examination  for  Dr.  Smith's 
prizes. 

These  two  prizes,  of  twenty-five  pounds  each,  exercise  a 
very  curious  and  important  influence.  Usually  three  or  four 
hundred  young  men  are  examined  previously  to  taking  their 
degree.  The  University  officers  examine  and  place  them 
in  the  order  of  their  mathematical  merit.  The  class  called 
Wranglers  is  the  highest;  of  these  the  first  is  called  the 
senior  wrangler,  the  others  the  second  and  third,  &a, 
wranglers. 


32  COURT  OF  APPEAL. 

All  the  young  men  who  have  just  taken  their  degree,  whether 
with  or  without  honours,  are  qualified  to  compete  for  the 
Smith's  prizes  by  sending  in  notice  to  the  electors,  who  con- 
sist of  the  three  Professors  of  Geometry,  Astronomy,  and 
Physics,  assisted  occasionally  by  two  oflScial  electors,  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  and  the  Master  of  Trinity  College.  However,  in 
point  of  fact,  generally  three,  and  rarely  above  six  young  men 
compete. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  University  officers,  who  examine 
several  hundred  young  men,  cannot  bestow  the  same  minute 
attention  upon  each  as  those  who,  at  the  utmost,  only  examine 
six.  Nor  is  this  of  any  importance,  except  to  the  few  first 
wranglers,  who  usually  are  candidates  for  these  prizes.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  examiners  of  the  Smith's  prizes  con- 
stitute, as  it  were,  a  court  of  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the 
University  officers.  The  decision  of  the  latter  is  thus  there- 
fore, necessarily  appealed  against  upon  every  occasion.  Per- 
haps in  one  out  of  five  or  six  cases  the  second  or  third  wran- 
gler obtains  the  first  Smith's  prize.  I  may  add  that  in  the 
few  cases  known  to  me  previously  to  my  becoming  an  ex- 
aminer, the  public  opinion  of  the  University  always  approved 
those  decisions,  without  implying  any  censure  on  the  officers 
of  the  University. 

In  forming  my  set  of  questions,  I  consulted  the  late  Dean 
of  Ely  and  another  friend,  in  order  that  I  might  not  suddenly 
deviate  too  much  from  the  usual  style  of  examinations. 

After  having  examined  the  young  men,  I  sat  up  the  whole 
night,  carefully  weighing  the  relative  merits  of  their  answers. 
I  found,  with  some  mortification,  that,  according  to  my  marks, 
the  second  wrangler  ought  to  have  the  first  prize.  I  there- 
fore put  aside  the  papers  until  the  day  before  the  decision. 
I  then  took  an  unmarked  copy  of  my  questions,  and  put  new 


REMARKABLE  AGREEMENT.  33 

numbers  for  their  respective  values.  After  very  carefully 
going  over  the  whole  of  the  examination-papers  again,  I 
arrived  almost  exactly  at  my  former  conclusion. 

On  our  meeting  at  the  Vice-Chancellor's,  that  functionary 
asked  me,  as  the  senior  professor,  what  was  my  decision  as  to 
the  two  prizes.  I  stated  that  the  result  of  ray  examination 
obUged  me  to  award  the  first  prize  to  the  second  wrangler. 
Professor  Airy  was  then  asked  the  same  question.  He  made 
the  same  reply.  Professor  Lax  being  then  asked,  said  he 
had  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion  as  his  two  colleagues. 

The  Vice-Chancellor  remarked  that  when  we  altered  the 
arrangement  of  the  University  Examiners,  it  was  very  satis- 
factory that  we  should  be  unanimous.  Professor  Airy  ob- 
served that  tliis  satisfaction  was  enhanced  by  the  fact  of 
the  remarkable  difference  in  the  tastes  of  the  three  ex- 
aminers. 

The  Vice-Chancellor,  turning  to  me,  asked  whether  it 
might  be  permitted  to  inquire  the  numbers  we  had  respec- 
tively assigned  to  each  candidate. 

I  and  my  colleagues  immediately  mentioned  our  numbers, 
which  Professor  Airy  at  once  reduced  to  a  common  scale. 
On  this  it  appeared  that  the  number  of  marks  assigned  to  each 
by  Professor  Airy  and  myself  very  nearly  agreed,  whilst  that 
of  Professor  Lax  differed  but  little. 

On  this  occasion  the  first  Smith's  prize  was  assigned  to  the 
second  wrangler,  Mr.  Cavendish,  now  Duke  of  Devonshire, 
the  present  Chancellor  of  the  University. 

The  result  of  the  whole  of  my  after-experience  showed  that 
amongst  the  highest  men  the  peculiar  tastes  of  the  examiners 
had  no  effect  in  disturbing  the  proper  decision. 

I  held  the  Chair  of  Newton  for  some  few  years,  and  still 
feel  deeply  grateful  for  the  honour  the  University  conferred 


84  GHOST  CLUB-EXTRACTORS. 

upon  me — tlie  only  honour  I  ever  received  in  my  own 
country.* 

I  must  now  return  to  my  pursuits  during  my  residence  at 
Cambridge,  the  account  of  which  lias  been  partially  inter- 
rupted by  the  history  of  my  appointment  to  the  Chair  of 
Newton. 

Wliilst  I  was  an  undergraduate,  I  lived  probably  in  a 
greater  variety  of  sets  than  any  of  my  young  companions. 
But  my  cliief  and  choicest  consisted  of  some  ten  or  a  dozen 
friends  who  usually  breakfasted  with  mo  every  Sunday  after 
chapel;  arriving  at  about  nine,  and  remaining  to  between 
twelve  and  one  o'clock.  We  discussed  all  knowable  and 
many  unknowable  things. 

At  one  time  we  resolved  ourselves  into  a  Ghost  Club,  and 
proceeded  to  collect  evidence,  and  entered  into  a  consider- 
able corresi)ondence  upon  the  subject.  Some  of  this  was 
botli  interesting  and  instructive. 

At  another  time  we  resolved  ourselves  into  a  Club  which 
we  called  The  Extractors.    Its  rules  were  as  follows, — 

1st  Every  member  shall  communicate  his  address  to  the 
Secretary  once  in  six  months. 

2nd.  If  this  communication  is  delayed  beyond  twelve 
months,  it  shall  be  taken  for  granted  that  his  relatives  had 
shut  him  up  as  insane. 

3rd.  Every  effort  legal  and  illegal  shall  be  made  to  get 
him  out  of  the  madhouse.  Hence  the  name  of  the  club — 
The  Extractors. 

^  lliis  profcsaonhip  is  not  in  the  gift  of  the  Government  The  electors 
are  the  masters  of  the  various  colleges.  It  was  founded  in  1663  by  Henry 
Lucas,  M.P.  for  the  University,  and  was  endowed  by  him  with  a  small 
estate  in  Bedfordshire.  Daring  my  tenure  of  that  office  my  net  receipts 
were  between  80/.  and  901.  a  year.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  tlic  estate  is 
DOW  improved,  and  tliat  the  University  have  added  an  annual  salary  to  the 
Chair  uf  Xcwton. 


SHYNESS— CHESS.  35 

4th.  Every  candidate  for  admission  as  a  member  shall 
produce  six  certificates.  Three  that  he  is  sane  and  three 
others  that  he  is  insane. 

It  has  often  occurred  to  me  to  inquire  of  my  legal  friends 
whether,  if  the  sanity  of  any  member  of  the  club  had  been 
questioned  in  after-life,  he  would  have  adduced  the  fact  of 
membership  of  the  Club  of  Extractors  as  an  indication  of 
sanity  or  of  insanity. 

During  the  first  part  of  my  residence  at  Cambridge,  I 
played  at  chess  very  frequently,  often  with  D'Arblay  and 
with  several  other  good  players.  There  was  at  that  period  a 
fellow-commoner  at  Trinity  named  Brande,  who  devoted 
almost  his  whole  time  to  the  study  of  chess.  I  was  invited  to 
meet  him  one  evening  at  the  rooms  of  a  common  friend  for 
the  purpose  of  trjring  our  strength. 

On  an-iving  at  my  friend's  rooms,  I  found  a  note  informing 
me  that  he  had  gone  to  Newmarket,  and  had  left  coffee  and 
the  chessmen  for  us.  I  was  myself  tormented  by  great 
shyness,  and  my  yet  unseen  adversary  was,  I  understood, 
equally  diffident.  I  was  sitting  before  the  chess-board  when 
Brande  entered.  I  rose,  he  advanced,  sat  down,  and  took  a 
white  and  a  block  pawn  from  the  board,  which  he  held,  one  in 
either  hand.  I  pointed  with  my  finger  to  the  left  hand  and 
won  the  move. 

The  game  then  commenced ;  it  was  rather  a  long  one,  and 
I  won  it :  but  not  a  word  was  exclianged  until  the  end :  when 
Brande  uttered  the  first  word.  "  Another?"  To  tliis  I  nod- 
ded assent 

How  that  game  was  decided  I  do  not  now  remember ;  but 
the  first  sentence  pronounced  by  either  of  us,  was  a  remark 
by  Brande,  that  he  had  lost  the  first  game  by  a  certain  move 
of  his  white  bishop.     To  this  I  replied,  that  I  thought  he  was 

d2 


36  SIXPENiNY  WHIST. 

mistaken,  and  that  the  real  cause  of  his  losing  the  game  arose 
from  the  use  I  had  made  of  my  knight  two  moves  previously 
to  his  white  bishop's  move. 

We  then  immediately  began  to  replace  the  men  on  the 
board  in  the  positions  they  occupied  at  that  particular  point 
of  the  game  when  the  white  bishop's  move  was  made.  Each 
took  up  any  piece  indiscriminately,  and  placed  it  without 
hesitation  on  the  exact  square  on  which  it  had  stood.  It 
then  became  apparent  that  the  effective  move  to  which  I 
had  referred  was  that  of  my  knight. 

Brande,  during  his  residence  at  Cambridge,  studied  chess 
r^ularly  several  hours  each  day,  and  read  almost  every 
treatise  on  the  subject.  After  he  left  college  he  travelled 
abroad,  took  lessons  from  every  celebrated  teacher,  and 
played  with  all  the  most  eminent  players  on  the  Con- 
tinent. 

At  intervals  of  three  or  four  years  I  occasionally  met  him 
in  London.  After  the  usual  greeting  he  always  proposed 
that  we  should  play  a  game  of  chess. 

I  found  on  these  occasions,  that  if  I  played  any  of  the 
ordinary  openings,  such  as  are  found  in  the  books,  I  was  sure 
to  be  beaten.  The  only  way  in  which  I  had  a  chance  of 
winning,  was  by  making  early  in  the  game  a  move  so  bad 
that  it  had  not  been  mentioned  in  any  treatise.  Brande 
possessed,  and  had  road,  almost  every  book  upon  the 
subject. 

Another  set  which  I  frequently  joined  were  addicted  to 
sixpenny  wliist.  It  consisted  of  Higman,  afterwards  Tutor  of 
Trinity ;  Follet,  afterwards  Attomey-(ieneral ;  of  a  learned 
and  accomplished  Dean  still  living,  and  I  have  no  doubt  still 
playing  an  excellent  nibber,  and  myself.  We  not  unfre- 
c|uently  sat  from  chapel-time  in  the  evening  until  the  sound 


EXPEDITIONS  TO  THE  FENS.  37 

of  the  morning  chapel  bell  again  called  us  to  our  religious 
duties. 

I  mixed  occasionally  with  a  different  set  of  whist  players 
at  Jesus  College.  They  played  high :  guinea  points,  and  five 
guineas  on  the  rubber.  I  was  always  a  most  welcome  visitor, 
not  from  my  skill  at  the  game ;  but  because  I  never  played 
more  than  shilling  points  and  five  shillings  on  the  rubber. 
Consequently  my  partner  had  what  they  considered  an  ad- 
vantage :  namely,  that  of  playing  guinea  points  with  one  of 
our  adversaries  and  pound  points  with  the  other. 

Totally  different  in  character  was  another  set  in  which  I 
mixed.  I  was  very  fond  of  boating,  not  of  the  manual  labour 
of  rowing,  but  the  more  intellectual  art  of  sailing.  I  kept  a 
beautiful  light,  London-built  boat,  and  occasionally  took  long 
voyages  down  the  river,  beyond  Ely  into  the  fens.  To  ac- 
complish these  trips,  it  was  necessary  to  have  two  or  three 
strong  fellows  to  row  when  the  wind  failed  or  was  contrary. 
These  were  useful  friends  upon  my  aquatic  expeditions,  but 
not  being  of  exactly  the  same  calibre  as  my  friends  of  the 
Ghost  Club,  were  very  cruelly  and  disrespectfully  called  by 
them  "  my  Tom  fools." 

The  plan  of  our  voyage  was  thus: — I  sent  my  servant  to 
the  apothecary  for  a  thing  called  an  aegrotat,  which  I  under- 
stood, for  I  never  saw  one,  meant  a  certificate  that  I  was  in- 
disposed, and  that  it  would  be  injurious  to  my  health  to 
attend  chapel,  or  hall,  or  lectures.  This  was  forwarded  to 
the  college  authorities. 

I  also  directed  my  servant  to  order  the  cook  to  send  me  a 
large  well-seasoned  meat  pie,  a  couple  of  fowls,  &c.  These 
were  packed  in  a  hamper  with  three  or  four  bottles  of  wine 
and  one  of  noyeau.  We  sailed  when  the  wind  was  fair,  and 
rowed  when  there  was  none.     Whittlesea  Mere  was  a  very 


38  CHEMISTRY. 

favourite  resort  for  sailing,  fishing,  and  shooting.  Some- 
times we  reached  Lynn.  After  various  adventures  and  five  or 
six  days  of  hard  exercise  in  the  open  air,  we  returned  with 
our  health  more  renovated  than  if  the  best  physician  had 
prescribed  for  us. 

During  my  residence  at  Cambridge,  Smithson  TeniTant 
was  the  Professor  of  Chemistry,  and  I  attended  his  lec- 
tures. Having  a  spare  room,  I  turned  it  into  a  kind  of  la- 
boratory, in  which  Herschel  worked  with  me,  until  he  set 
up  a  rival  one  of  his  own.  We  both  occasionally  assisted 
the  Professor  in  prei>aring  his  experiments.  The  science  of 
chemistry  had  not  then  assumed  the  vast  development  it  has 
now  attained.  I  gave  up  its  practical  pursuit  soon  after  I 
resided  in  London,  but  I  have  never  regretted  the  time  I 
bestowed  upon  it  at  the  commencement  of  my  career.  I 
had  hoped  to  have  long  continued  to  enjoy  the  friendship 
of  my  entertaining  and  valued  instructor,  and  to  have 
profited  by  his  introducing  me  to  tlie  science  of  the  metro- 
polis, but  his  tragical  fate  deprived  me  of  that  advantage. 
Whilst  riding  with  General  Bulow  acroas  a  drawbridge  at 
Boulogne,  the  bolt  having  been  displaced,  Smithson  Tcnnant 
was  precipitated  to  the  bottom,  and  killed  on  the  8i)ot.  The 
General,  having  an  earlier  warning,  set  spurs  to  his  horses 
and  just  escaped  a  similar  fate. 

My  views  respecting  the  notation  of  licibnitz  now  (1812) 
received  confirmation  from  an  extensive  course  of  reading.  1 
became  convinced  that  the  notation  of  fluxions  must  ultimately 
prove  a  strong  imi)ediment  to  the  progress  of  English  science. 
But  I  knew,  also,  tliat  it  was  hoj)eless  for  any  young  and 
unknown  author  to  attempt  to  introduce  the  notation  of 
Leibnitz  into  an  elementary  work.     This  opinion  naturally 


TRANSLATION  OF  LACROIX.  39 

suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  translatmg  the  smaller  work  of 
Lacroix.  It  is  possible^  although  I  haye  no  recollection  of  it, 
that  the  same  idea  may  have  occurred  to  several  of  my  col- 
leagues of  the  Analytical  Society,  but  most  of  them  were  so 
occupied,  first  with  their  degree,  and  then  with  their  examina- 
tion for  fellowships,  that  no  steps  were  at  that  time  taken  by 
any  of  them  on  that  subject. 

Unencumbered  by  these  distractions,  I  commenced  the 
task,  but  at  what  period  of  time  I  do  not  exactly  recollect. 
1  had  finished  a  portion  of  the  translation,  and  laid  it  aside, 
when,  some  years  afterwards,  Peacock  called  on  me  in  Devon- 
shire Street,  and  stated  that  both  Herschel  and  himself  were 
convinced  that  the  change  from  the  dots  to  the  d's  would  not 
be  accomplished  until  some  foreign  work  of  eminence  should 
be  translated  into  Englisli.  Peacock  then  proposed  th^t  I 
should  either  finish  the  translation  which  I  had  commenced, 
or  that  Herschel  and  himself  should  complete  the  remainder 
of  my  translation.  I  suggested  that  we  should  toss  up  which 
alternative  to  take.  It  was  determined  by  lot  that  we  should 
make  a  joint  translation.  Some  months  after,  the  translation 
of  the  small  work  of  Lacroix  was  published. 

For  several  years  after,  the  progress  of  the  notation  of 
Leibnitz  at  Cambridge  was  slow.  It  is  true  that  the  tutors 
of  the  two  largest  colleges  had  adopted  it,  but  it  was  taught 
at  none  of  the  other  colleges. 

It  is  always  difficult  to  think  and  reason  in  a  new  language, 
and  this  difficulty  discouraged  all  but  men  of  energetic  minds. 
I  saw,  however,  that,  by  making  it  their  interest  to  do  so,  the 
change  might  be  accomplished.  I  therefore  proposed  to 
make  a  large  collection  of  examples  of  the  differential  and 
integral  calculus,  consisting  merely  of  tlie  statement  of  each 
problem  and  its  final  solution.     I  foresaw  that  if  such  a  pub- 


40  COLLECTION  OF  EXAMPLES. 

lication  existed,  all  those  tutors  who  did  not  approve  of  the 
change  of  the  Newtonian  notation  would  yet,  in  order  to 
save  their  own  time  and  trouble,  go  to  this  collection  of 
examples  to  find  problems  to  set  to  their  pupils.  After  a 
short  time  the  use  of  the  new  signs  would  become  familiar, 
and  I  anticipated  their  general  adoption  at  Cambridge  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

I  commenced  by  copying  out  a  large  portion  of  tlie  work 
of  Hirsch.  I  then  communicated  to  Peacock  and  Herschel 
my  view,  and  proposed  that  they  should  each  contribute  a 
portion. 

Peacock  considerably  modified  my  plan  by  giving  the  pro- 
cess of  solution  to  a  large  number  of  the  questions.  Herschel 
prepared  the  questions  in  finite  difierences,  and  I  supplied  tlie 
examples  to  the  calculus  of  functions.  In  a  very  few  years 
the  change  was  completely  established  ;  and  thus  at  last  the 
English  cultivators  of  matliematical  science,  untrammelled  by 
a  limited  and  imperfect  system  of  signs,  entered  on  equal 
terms  into  competition  with  their  continental  rivals. 


CHAPTER  ¥• 

DIFFERENCE   ENGINE  NO.  I. 


••  Oh  no !  we  never  mention  it, 
Its  name  is  never  heard." 


IHfferenoe  Engine  No.  1 — First  Idea  at  Cambridge,  1812 — Plan  for  Di- 
viding Astronomical  Instrmnents — Idea  of  a  Machine  to  calculate  Tables 
by  DiflFerences — Illustrations  by  Piles  of  Cannon-balls. 

Calculating  Machines  comprise  various  pieces  of  me- 
chanism for  assisting  tlie  human  mind  in  executing  the  ope- 
rations of  arithmetic.  Some  few  of  these  perform  the  whole 
operation  without  any  mental  attention  when  once  the  given 
numbers  have  been  put  into  the  machine. 

Others  require  a  moderate  portion  of  mental  attention: 
these  latter  are  generally  of  much  simpler  construction  than 
the  former,  and  it  may  also  be  added,  are  less  useful 

The  simplest  way  of  deciding  to  wliich  of  tliese  two  classes 
any  calculating  machine  belongs  is  to  ask  its  maker — Whether^ 
when  the  numbers  on  wliich  it  is  to  operate  are  placed  in  the 
instrument,  it  is  capable  of  arriving  at  its  result  by  the  mere 
motion  of  a  spring,  a  descending  weight,  or  any  other  constant 
force  ?  If  the  answer  be  in  the  affirmative,  tlie  machine  is 
really  automatic ;  if  otherwise,  it  is  not  self-acting. 

Of  the  various  machines  I  Jiave  had  occasion  to  examine, 
many  of  those  for  Addition  and  Subtraction  have  been  found 


42  ORIGIN  OF  DIFFERENCE  ENGINK 

to  be  automatic.  Of  machmes  for  Multiplication  and  Divi- 
gion,  which  have  fhlly  come  under  my  examination,  I  cannot 
at  present  recall  one  to  my  memory  as  abeolutely  fulfilling 
this  condition. 

The  earliest  idea  that  I  can  trace  in  my  own  mind  of 
calculating  arithmetical  Tables  by  machinery  arose  in  this 
manner : — 

One  eyening  I  was  sitting  in  the  rooms  of  the  Analytical 
Society,  at  Cambridge,  my  head  leaning  forward  on  the  Table 
in  a  kind  of  dreamy  mood,  with  a  Table  of  logarithms  lying 
open  before  me.  Another  member,  coming  into  the  room,  and 
seeing  me  half  asleep,  called  out,  '*  Well,  Babbage,  what  are 
you  dreaming  about  ?"  to  which  I  replied,  ^'  I  am  thinking 
that  aU  these  Tables  (pointing  to  the  logarithms)  might  be 
calculated  by  machinery.** 

I  am  indebted  to  my  firiend,  the  Bev.  Dr.  Robinson,  the 
Master  of  the  Temple,  for  this  anecdote.  The  event  must 
have  happened  either  in  1812  or  1813. 

About  1819  I  was  occupied  with  devising  means  for  ac- 
curately dividing  astronomical  instruments,  and  had  arrived 
at  a  plan  which  I  thought  was  likely  to  succeed  perfectly.  I 
had  also  at  that  time  been  speculating  about  making 
machinery  to  compute  arithmetical  Tables. 

One  morning  I  called  upon  the  late  Dr.  WoUaston,  to 
consult  him  about  my  plan  for  dividing  instrumenta  On 
talking  over  the  matter,  it  turned  out  that  my  system  was 
exactly  that  which  had  been  described  by  the  Duke  de 
Chaulnes,  in  the  l^Iemoirs  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences, 
about  fifty  or  sixty  years  before.  I  then  mentioned  my  other 
idea  of  computing  Tables  by  machinery,  which  Dr.  Wollaston 
thought  a  more  promising  subject. 

I  considered  that  a  machine  to  execute  the  mere  isolated 


ADDITION  AND  CARRIAGE.  43 

operations  of  arithmetic,  would  be  comparatively  of  little 
valae,  unless  it  were  very  easily  set  to  do  its  work,  and 
unfess  it  executed  not  only  accurately,  but  with  great  rapidity, 
whatever  it  was  required  to  do. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  method  of  differences  supplied  a 
general  principle  by  which  aU  Tables  might  be  computed 
through  limited  intervals,  by  one  uniform  process.  Again, 
the  method  of  differences  required  the  use  of  mecham'sm  for 
Addition  only.  In  order,  however,  to  insure  accuracy  in  the 
printed  Tables,  it  was  necessary  that  the  machine  which  com- 
puted Tables  should  also  set  them  up  in  type,  or  else  supply 
a  mould  in  which  stereotype  plates  of  those  Tables  could 
be  cast. 

I  now  began  to  sketch  out  arrangements  for  accomplishing 
the  several  partial  processes  which  were  required.  The 
arithmetical  part  must  consist  of  two  distinct  processes — the 
power  of  adding  one  digit  to  another,  and  also  of  carrying  the 
tens  to  the  next  digit,  if  it  should  be  necessary. 

ITie  first  idea  was,  naturally,  to  add  each  digit  successively. 
This,  however,  would  occupy  much  time  if  the  numbers  added 
together  consisted  of  many  places  of  figures. 

The  next  step  was  to  add  all  the  digits  of  the  two  numbers 
each  to  each  at  the  same  instant,  but  reserving  a  certain 
mechanical  memorandum,  wherever  a  carriage  became  due. 
These  carriages  were  then  to  be  executed  successively. 

Having  made  various  drawings,  I  now  began  to  make 
models  of  some  portions  of  the  machine,  to  see  how  they 
would  act  Each  number  was  to  be  expressed  upon  wheels 
placed  upon  an  axis ;  there  being  one  wheel  for  each  figure  in 
the  number  operated  upon. 

Having  arrived  at  a  certain  ix)int  in  my  progress,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  teeth  of  a  peculiar  form  cut  upon  tliese 


44  UNEXPECTED  DIFFICULIT  EXPLAINED. 

wheels.  Ajs  my  own  lathe  was  not  fit  for  this  job,  I  took  tlic 
wheels  to  a  wheel-cutter  at  Lambeth,  to  whom  I  carefully 
conveyed  my  instructions,  leaving  with  Iiim  a  drawing  as  his 
guide. 

These  wheels  arrived  late  one  night,  and  the  next  morning 
I  began  putting  them  in  action  with  my  other  mechanism, 
when,  to  my  utter  astonishment,  I  found  they  were  quite 
unfit  for  their  task.  I  examined  the  shape  of  their  teeth, 
compared  them  with  those  in  the  drawings,  and  found  they 
agreed  perfectly ;  yet  they  could  not  perform  their  intended 
work  I  had  been  so  certain  of  the  truth  of  my  previous 
reasoning,  that  I  now  began  to  be  somewhat  uneasy.  I 
reflected  that^  if  the  reasoning  about  which  I  had  been  so 
certain  should  prove  to  have  been  really  fallacious,  I  could 
then  no  longer  trust  tlie  power  of  my  own  reason.  I  therefore 
went  over  with  my  wheels  to  the  artist  who  had  formed  the 
teeth,  in  order  that  I  might  arrive  at  some  explanation  of 
this  extraordinary  contradiction. 

On  conferring  with  liim,  it  turned  out  that,  when  he  had 
understood  fully  the  peculiar  form  of  the  teeth  of  wheels,  he 
discovered  that  his  wheel-cutting  engine  had  not  got  amongst 
its  divisions  that  precise  number  which  I  had  required.  He 
therefore  had  asked  me  whether  another  number,  which  his 
machine  possessed,  would  not  equally  answer  my  object  I 
had  inadvertently  replied  in  the  affirmative.  He  then  made 
arrangements  for  the  precise  number  of  teeth  I  required ;  and 
the  new  wheels  performed  their  expected  duty  perfectly. 

The  next  step  was  to  devise  means  for  printing  the  tables 
to  be  computed  by  this  machine.  My  first  plan  was  to  make 
it  put  together  moveable  type.  I  proposed  to  make  metal 
boxes,  each  containing  8,000  tyi)es  of  one  of  the  ten  digits. 
Those  types  were  to  be  made  to  pass  out  one  by  one  from  the 


VERIFICATION  OF  TYPE.  46 

bottom  of  their  boxes,  when  required  by  the  computing  part 
of  the  machine. 

But  here  a  new  difficulty  arose.  The  attendant  who  put 
the  types  into  the  boxes  might,  by  mistake,  put  a  wrong  type 
in  one  or  more  of  them.  This  cause  of  error  I  removed  in 
the  following  mannfer : — There  are  usually  certain  notches  in 
tlie  side  of  the  type.  I  caused  these  notches  to  be  so  placed 
that  all  the  types  of  any  given  digit  possessed  the  same  cha- 
racteristic notches,  which  no  other  type  had.  Thus,  when  the 
boxes  were  filled,  by  passing  a  small  wire  down  tliese  peculiar 
notches,  it  would  be  impeded  in  its  passage,  if  there  were 
included  in  the  row  a  single  wrong  figiu*e.  Also,  if  any  digit 
were  accidentally  turned  upside  down,  it  would  be  indicated 
by  the  stoppage  of  the  testing  wire. 

One  notch  was  reserved  as  common  to  every  species  of 
type.  The  object  of  this  was  that,  before  the  types  which 
the  Difference  Engine  had  used  for  its  computation  were  re- 
moved from  the  iron  platform  on  which  they  were  placed,  a 
steel  wire  should  be  passed  through  this  common  notch,  and 
remain  there.  The  tables,  composed  of  moveable  types,  thus 
interlocked,  could  never  have  any  of  their  figures  drawn  out 
by  adhesion  to  the  iiiking-roller,  and  then  by  possibility  be 
restored  in  an  inverted  order.  A  small  block  of  such  figures 
tied  together  by  a  bit  of  string,  remained  unbroken  for  several 
years,  although  it  was  rather  roughly  used  as  a  plaything  by 
my  children.  One  such  box  was  finished,  and  delivered  its 
type  satisfactorily. 

Another  plan  for  printing  the  tables,  was  to  place  the  or- 
dinary printing  type  round  the  edges  of  wheels.  Then,  as 
each  successive  number  was  produced  by  the  arithmetical 
part,  the  type-wheels  would  move  down  upon  a  plate  of  soil 
composition,  upon  which  the  tabular  number  would  be  im- 


46  MOULDS  AND  COPPER-PIATE. 

pressed.  This  mould  was  formed  of  a  mixture  of  plaster-of- 
Paris  with  other  materials,  so  as  to  become  hard  in  the 
course  of  a  few  hours. 

The  first  difficulty  arose  from  the  impression  of  one  tabular 
number  on  the  mould  being  distorted  by  the  succeeding  one. 

I  was  not  then  aware  that  a  very  slight  depth  of  impression 
from  the  type  would  be  quite  sufficient  I  surmounted  the 
difficulty  by  previously  passing  a  roller,  having  longitudinal 
wedge-«haped  projections,  over  the  plastic  material.  This 
formed  a  series  of  small  depressions  in  the  matrix  between 
each  line.  Thus  the  expansion  arising  from  the  impression 
of  one  line  partially  filled  up  the  small  depression  or  ditch 
which  occurred  between  each  successive  line. 

The  various  minute  difficulties  of  this  kind  were  succes- 
sively overcome ;  but  subsequent  experience  has  proved  that 
the  depth  necessary  for  stereotype  moulds  is  very  small,  and 
that  even  thick  paper,  prepared  in  a  peculiar  manner,  is  quite 
sufficient  for  the  purpose. 

Another  series  of  experiments  were,  however,  made  for  the 
purpose  of  punching  the  computed  numbers  upon  copper 
plate.  A  special  machine  was  contrived  and  constructed, 
which  might  be  called  a  co-ordinate  machine,  because  it 
moved  the  copper  plate  and  steel  punches  in  the  direction  of 
three  rectangulcu:  co-ordinates.  This  machine  was  afterwards 
found  very  useful  for  many  other  purposes.  It  was,  in  fact,  a 
general  shaping  machine,  upon  which  many  parts  of  the  Dif- 
ference Engine  were  formed. 

Several  specimens  of  surface  and  copper-plate  printing,  as 
well  as  of  the  copper  plates,  produced  by  these  means,  were 
exhibited  at  the  Exhibition  of  1862. 

I  have  proposed  and  drawn  various  machines  for  the 
purpose  of  calculating  a  series  of  numbers  forming  Tables 


•  EDINBURGH  REVIEW.'  47 

by  means  of  a  certain  system  called  "  The  Method  of  Dif- 
ferences," which  it  is  the  object  of  this  sketch  to  explain. 

The  first  Difference  Engine  witli  which  I  am  acquainted 
comprised  a  few  figures,  and  was  made  by  myself,  between 
1820  and  June  1822.  It  consisted  of  from  six  to  eight 
figures.  A  much  larger  and  more  perfect  engine  was  sub- 
sequently commenced  in  1823  for  the  Government 

It  was  proposed  that  this  latter  Difference  Engine  should 
have  six  orders  of  differences,  each  consisting  of  about 
twenty  places  of  figures,  and  also  that  it  should  print  the 
Tables  it  computed. 

The  small  portion  of  it  which  was  placed  in  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1862  was  put  together  nearly  thirty 
years  ago.  It  was  accompanied  by  various  parts  intended  to 
enable  it  to  print  the  results  it  calculated,  either  as  a  single 
copy  on  paper — or  by  putting  together  moveable  types— or  by 
stereotype  plates  taken  from  moulds  punched  by  the  machine 
— or  from  copper  plates  impressed  by  it.  The  parts  neces- 
sary for  the  execution  of  each  of  these  processes  were  made, 
but  these  were  not  at  that  time  attached  to  the  calculating 
part  of  the  machine. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  parts  by  which  the  printing 
was  to  be  accomplislied,  as  also  several  specimens  of  portions 
of  tables  pimched  on  copper,  and  of  stereotype  moulds,  were 
exhibited  in  a  glass  case  adjacent  to  the  Engine. 

In  1834  Dr.  Lardner  published,  in  the  *  Edinburgh  Eeview,'  • 
a  very  elaborate  description  of  this  portion  of  the  machine, 
in  which  he  explained  clearly  the  method  of  Differences. 

It  is  very  singular  that  two  persons,  one  resident  in  London, 
the  other  in  Sweden,  should  both  have  been  struck,  on  reading 
this  review,  with  the  simplicity  of  the  mathematical  principle 
♦  •  Edinburgh  Review,'  No.  cxx.,  July,  1834. 


48  MR.  DEACON— MR.  SCHKUTZ. 

of  diflferences  as  applied  to  the  calculation  of  Tables,  and 
should  have  been  so  fascinated  with  it  as  to  have  undertaken 
to  construct  a  machine  of  the  kind. 

Mr.  Deacon,  of  Beaufort  House,  Strand,  whose  mechanical 
skill  is  well  known,  made,  for  his  o\mi  satisfaction,  a  small 
model  of  the  calculating  part  of  such  a  machine,  which  was 
shown  only  to  a  few  friends,  and  of  the  existence  of  which  I 
was  not  aware  until  after  the  Swedish  machine  was  brought 
to  London. 

l^Ir.  Scheutz,  an  eminent  printer  at  Stockholm,  had  far 
greater  difficulties  to  encounter.  The  construction  of  me- 
chanism, as  well  as  the  mathematical  part  of  the  question, 
was  entirely  new  to  him.  He,  however,  undertook  to  make 
a  machine  having  four  differences,  and  fourteen  places  of 
figures,  and  capable  of  printing  its  own  Tables. 

After  many  years'  indefatigable  labour,  and  an  almost 
ruinous  expense,  aided  by  grants  from  his  Government,  by 
the  constant  assistance  of  his  son,  and  by  the  support  of 
many  enlightened  members  of  the  Swedish  Academy,  he 
completed  his  Difference  Engine.  It  was  brought  to  London, 
and  some  time  afterwards  exhibited  at  the  great  Exhibition 
at  Paris.  It  was  then  purchased  for  the  Dudley  Observatory 
at  Albany  by  an  enlightened  and  public-spirited  merchant  of 
that  city,  John  F.  Rathbone,  Esq. 

An  exact  copy  of  this  machine  was  made  by  Messrs. 
Donkin  and  Co.,  for  the  English  Grovemment,  and  is  now  in 
use  in  the  Registrar-General's  Department  at  Somerset  House. 
It  is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  specimen  of  English 
workmanship  was  not  exhibited  in  the  International  Exhibi- 
tion. 


ARITHMETICAL  TABLES.  49 


EoBplanation  of  the  Difference  Engine. 

Those  who  are  only  familiar  with  ordinary  arithmetic  may, 
by  following  out  with  the  pen  some  of  the  examples  which 
will  be  given,  easily  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the 
simple  principles  on  which  the  Difference  Engine  acts. 

It  is  necessary  to  state  distinctly  at  the  outset,  that  the 
Difference  Engine  is  not  intended  to  answer  special  questions. 
Its  object  is  to  calculate  and  print  a  series  of  results  formed 
according  to  given  laws.  These  are  called  Tables — many 
such  are  in  use  in  various  trades.  For  example — there  are 
collections  of  Tables  of  the  amount  of  any  number  of  pounds 
from  1  to  100  lbs.  of  butchers'  meat  at  various  prices  per  lb. 
Let  us  examine  one  of  these  Tables :  viz. — ^the  price  of  meat 
5d.  per  lb.,  we  find 


amber. 

TMe. 

Lbi. 

Price. 

«.    d. 

1 

0     5 

2 

0  10 

3 

1     3 

4 

1    8 

5 

2     1 

There  are  two  ways  of  computing  this  Table : — 

1st.  We  might  Iiave  midtiplied  the  number  of  lbs.  in  each 
line  by  5,  the  price  per  lb.,  and  have  put  down  the  result  in 
L  s.  d.,  as  in  the  2nd  column :  or, 

2nd.  We  might  have  put  down  the  price  of  1  lb.,  which 
is  5(2.,  and  have  added  five  pence  for  each  succeeding  lb. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  relative  advantages  of  each  plan. 
We  shall  find  that  if  we  had  multiplied  each  number  of  lbs.  in 


50  DIFFERENCES. 

the  Table  by  5,  and  put  down  the  resulting  amount,  then 
every  number  in  the  Table  would  have  been  computed  inde- 
pendently. If,  therefore,  an  error  had  been  committed,  it 
would  not  have  aifected  any  but  the  single  tabular  number  at 
which  it  had  been  made.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  single 
error  had  occurred  in  the  system  of  computing  by  adding  five 
at  each  step,  any  such  error  would  have  rendered  the  whole 
of  the  rest  of  the  Table  untrue. 

Thus  the  system  of  calculating  by  differences,  which  is  the 
easiest,  is  much  more  liable  to  error.  It  has,  on  the  other 
hand,  this  great  advantage :  viz.,  that  when  the  Table  has 
been  so  computed,  if  we  calculate  its  last  term  directly,  and 
if  it  agree  with  the  last  term  found  by  the  continual  addition 
of  5,  we  shall  then  be  quite  certain  that  every  term  through- 
out is  correct.  In  the  system  of  computing  each  term 
directly,  we  possess  no  such  check  upon  our  accuracy. 

Now  the  Table  we  have  been  considering  is,  in  fact,  merely 
a  Table  whose  first  difference  is  constimt  and  equal  to  five. 
If  we  express  it  in  pence  it  becomes — 


1 

Table. 
5 

lat  Difference. 
5 

2 

10 

5 

3 

15 

5 

4 

20 

5 

5 

25 

Any  machine^  therefore,  which  could  add  one  number  to 
another,  and  at  the  same  time  retain  the  original  number 
called  the  first  difference  for  the  next  operation,  would  be 
able  to  compute  all  such  Tables. 

Let  U8  now  consider  another  form  of  Table  which  might 
readily  occur  to  a  boy  playing  with  his  marbles,  or  to  a  young 
lady  with  the  balls  ci  her  solitaire  board. 


GROUPS  OP  MARBLES.  61 

The  boy  may  place  a  row  of  his  marbles  on  the  sand,  at 
equal  distances  from  each  other,  thus— 

•  •  •  •  • 

He  might  then,  beginning  with  the  second,  place  two  other 
marbles  under  each,  thus — 

•        A       A        A        A 

He  might  then,  beginning  with  the  third,  place  three  other 
marbles  under  each  group,  and  so  on ;  commencing  always 
one  group  later,  and  making  the  addition  one  mcurble  more 
each  time.    The  seyeral  groups  would  stand  thus  arranged — 


^M  jft^ 


He  will  not  fail  to  observe  that  he  has  thus  formed  a  series 
of  triangular  groups,  every  group  having  an  equal  number  of 
marbles  in  each  of  its  tliree  sides.  Also  that  the  side  of  each 
successive  group  contains  one  more  marble  than  that  of  its 
preceding  group. 

Now  an  inquisitive  boy  would  naturally  coupt  the  numbers 
in  each  group  and  he  would  find  them  thus — 

I  3  6  10  15  21 

He  might  also  want  to  know  how  many  marbles  the 
thirtieth  or  any  other  distant  group  might  contain.  Perhaps 
he  might  go  to  papa  to  obtain  this  information ;  but  I  much 
fear  papa  would  snub  him,  and  would  tell  him  that  it  was 
nonsense — that  it  was  useless — that  nobody  knew  the  number, 
and  so  forth*  If  the  boy  is  told  by  papa,  that  he  is  not  able 
to  answer  the  question,  then  I  recommend  him  to  pay  careiul 
attention  to  whatever  that  father  may  at  any  time  say,  for  he 
has  overcome  two  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  acquisition 

E  2 


SZ  6E00KD  DIFFEEEKCX  00XSTA5T. 

of  knowledgo    in  ■  wn  m  h  as  he  ponryjurii  die 

that  he  does  not  knov — and  he  has  the  monl  oomage  to 

arow  it* 

If  pi^  fail  to  inCsim  him,  let  him  go  to  mamma,  who  will 
not  £ul  to  find  means  to  aatiBfyh^daiiiiig'scanoBity.  Lithe 
meantime  the  author  of  this  sketdi  will  endeaToor  to  lead  his 
yoong  fnend  to  make  use  of  his  own  conuncHi  sense  for  the 
purpose  of  becoming  better  acquainted  with  the  triangular 
figures  he  has  formed  with  his  marbles. 

In  the  case  of  the  Table  of  the  price  of  butchers'  meat»  it 
was  obvious  that  it  could  be  formed  by  adding  the  same  can- 
stmU  difference  continually  to  the  first  term.  Now  suppose 
we  place  the  numbers  of  our  groups  of  marbles  in  a  column, 
as  we  did  our  prices  of  yarious  weights  of  meat  Instead  of 
adding  a  certain  difference,  as  we  did  in  the  former  case^  let 
us  subtract  the  figures  representing  each  group  of  marbles 
from  the  figures  of  the  succeeding  group  in  the  Table.  The 
process  wiU  stand  thus : — 


Tkble. 

Ist  Differenoe,       2nd  Diffeicnce. 

mber  of  the 
Otoop. 

Number  of  Harbles 
•  ineaohOroap. 

Difference  between  the 
nomber  of  Haibles  in 
each  Group  and  that 
in  the  next 

1 

1 

1                            1 

2 

3 

2                       1 

3 

6 

3                       1 

4 

10 

4                       1 

5 

15 

5                       1 

6 

21 

6 

7 

28 

7 

It  is  usual  to  call  the  third  column  thus  formed  the  column  of 

*  The  most  remarkable  instaiioe  I  ever  met  with  of  the  distinctness 
with  which  any  individual  perceived  the  exact  boundarv  of  his  own  know- 
ledge, was  that  of  the  late  Dr.  Wollaston. 


TRIANGULAR  NUMBERa  68 

fir^t  differences.  It  is  evident  in  the  present  instance  that 
that  column  represents  the  natural  numbers.  But  we  already 
know  that  the  first  difierence  of  the  natural  numbers  is  con- 
stant and  equal  to  unity.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  a  Table 
of  these  numbers,  representing  the  group  of  marbles,  might  be 
constructed  to  any  extent  by  mere  addition — using  the 
number  1  as  the  first  number  of  the  Table,  the  number  1  as 
the  first  Difference,  and  also  the  number  1  as  the  second 
Difference,  which  last  always  remains  constant. 

Now  as  we  could  find  the  value  of  any  given  number  of 
pounds  of  meat  directly,  without  going  through  all  the  pre- 
vious part  of  the  Table,  so  by  a  somewhat  different  rule  we 
can  find  at  once  the  value  of  any  group  whose  number  is 
given. 

Thus,  if  we  require  the  number  of  marbles  in  the  fifth 
group,  proceed  thus : — 

,    Take  the  number  of  the  group       ....        5 
Add  1  to  this  number,  it  becomes  ....        6 

.    Multiply  these  numbers  together  •        .        .  2)30 

Divide  the  product  by  2 15 

This  gives  15,  the  number  of  marbles  in  the  5th  group. 

If  the  reader  will  take  the  trouble  to  calculate  with  his 
pencil  the  five  groups  given  above,  he  will  soon  perceive 
the  general  truth  of  this  rule. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  fact  that  this  Table — ^like  that 
of  the  price  of  butchers'  meat— can  be  calculated  by  two 
different  methods.  By  the  first,  each  number  of  the  Table  is 
calculated  independently :  by  the  second,  the  truth  of  each 
number  depends  upon  the  truth  of  all  the  previous  numbers. 

Perhaps  my  young  friend  may  now  ask  me.  What  is  the 
use  of  such  Tables  ?    Until  he  has  advanced  further  in  his 


54  SQUARE  NUMBERS. 

arithmetical  studies^  he  must  take  for  granted  that  they  are 
of  some  use.  The  very  Table  about  which  he  has  been  rea^ 
soning  possesses  a  special  name — it  is  called  a  Table  of  Tri- 
angular Numbers.  Almost  every  general  collection  of  Tables 
hitherto  published  contains  portions  of  it  of  more  or  less  extent 

Above  a  century  ago,  a  volume  in  small  quarto,  containing 
the  first  20,000  triangular  numbers,  was  published  at  the 
Hague  by  E.  De  Joncourt,  A.M.,  and  Professor  of  Philosophy.* 
I  cannot  resist  quoting  the  author's  enthusiastic  expression  of 
the  happiness  he  enjoyed  in  composing  his  celebrated  work : 

'^  The  Trigonals  here  to  be  found,  and  nowhere  else,  are 
*^  exactly  elaborate.  Let  the  candid  reader  make  the  best 
"  of  these  numbers,  and  feel  (if  possible)  in  perusing  my  work 
"  the  pleasure  I  had  in  composing  it" 

"  That  sweet  joy  may  arise  from  such  contemplations 
"  cannot  be  denied.  Numbers  and  lines  have  many  charms, 
"  unseen  by  vulgar  eyes,  and  only  discovered  to  the  unwearied 
*'  and  respectful  sons  of  Art  In  features  the  serpentine  line 
**  (who  starts  not  at  the  name)  produces  beauty  and  love ;  and 
"  in  numbers,  high  powers,  and  humble  roots,  give  soft  delight 

^'Lo!  the  raptured  arithmetician!  Easily  satisfied,  he 
'*  asks  no  Brussels  lace,  nor  a  coach  and  six.  To  calculate, 
^*  contents  his  liveliest  desires^  and  obedient  numbers  are 
"  within  his  reach." 

I  hope  my  young  friend  is  acquainted  with  the  &ct — that 
the  product  of  any  number  multiplied  by  itself  is  called  the 
square  of  that  number.  Thus  36  is  the  product  of  6  multi- 
plied by  6,  and  36  is  called  the  square  of  6.  I  would  now 
recommend  him  to  examine  the  series  of  square  numbers 
1,  4,  9,  16,  25,  36,  49,  64,  &c, 

•  *  On  the  Nature  and  Notable  Use  of  the  most  Simple  Trigonal  Niim- 
bera.'    By  E.  De  JoDOourt,  at  the  Ha^^ue.     1762. 


CANNON  BALLS.  65 

and  to  make,  for  his  own  instruction,  the  series  of  their  first 
and  second  differences,  and  then  to  apply  to  it  the  same  rea- 
soning which  has  been  already  applied  to  the  Table  of  Tri- 
angular Numbers. 

When  he  feels  that  he  has  mastered  that  Table,  I  shall  be 
happy  to  accompany  mamma's  darling  to  Woolwich  or  to 
Portsmouth,  where  he  will  find  some  practical  illustrations  of 
the  use  of  his  newly-acquired  numbers.  He  will  find  scat- 
tered about  in  the  Arsenal  various  heaps  of  cannon  balls, 
some  of  them  triangular,  others  square  or  oblong  pyramids. 

Looking  on  the  simplest  form — the  triangular  pyramid — he 
will  observe  that  it  exactly  represents  his  own  heaps  of 
marbles  placed  each  successively  above  one  another  until  the 
top  of  the  pyramid  contains  only  a  single  balL 

The  new  series  thus  formed  by  the  addition  of  his  own 
triangular  numbers ; 


aber. 

1 

TaMe. 
1 

1st  Diffetenoe. 
3 

2iid  Diffetenoe. 

3 

8id  Difbrenoe. 
1 

2 

4 

6 

4 

1 

3 

10 

10 

5 

1 

4 

20 

15 

6 

5 

35 

21 

6 

56 

He  will  at  once  perceive  that  this  Table  of  the  number  of 
cannon  balls  contained  in  a  triangular  pyramid  can  be  car- 
ried to  any  extent  by  simply  adding  successive  differences, 
the  third  of  which  is  constant 

The  next  step  will  naturally  be  to  inquire  how  any  number 
in  this  Table  can  be  calculated  by  itself.  A  littie  consider- 
ation will  lead  him  to  a  fair  guess;  a  littie  industry  will 
enable  him  to  confirm  his  conjecture. 

It  will  be  observed  at  p.  49  that  in  order  to  find  inde- 


56  NUMBER  IN  EACH  PILE. 

pendently  any  number  of  the  Table  of  the  price  of  butchers' 
meat)  the  following  rule  was  observed : — 

Take  the  number  whose  tabular  number  is  required. 

Multiply  it  by  the  first  difference. 

This  product  is  equal  to  the  required  tabular  number. 

Again,  at  p.  53,  the  rule  for  finding  any  triangular  number 
was: — 

Take  the  number  of  the  group     ...         5 
Add  1  to  this  number,  it  becomes         .        .  6 

Multiply  these  numbers  together .        .  2)30 

Divide  the  product  by  2        .        .        .        .        15 

This  is  the  number  of  marbles  in  the  5th  group. 
Now  let  us  make  a  bold  conjecture  respecting  the  Table  of 
cannon  bails,  and  try  this  rule : — 

Take  the  number  whose  tabular  number  is 

required,  say 5 

Add  1  to  that  number 6 

Add  1  more  to  that  number ....  7 

Multiply  all  three  numbers  together     .        .  2)210 

Divide  by  2 105 

The  real  number  in  the  5th  pyramid  is  35.  But  the 
number  105  at  which  we  have  arrived  is  exactly  three  times 
as  great  If,  therefore,  instead  of  dividing  by  2  we  had 
divided  by  2  and  also  by  3,  we  should  have  arrived  at  a  true 
result  in  this  instance. 

The  amended  rule  is  therefore — 


ASTRONOMICAL  TABLES.  57 

Take  the  number  whose  tabular  number  is 
required,  say n 

Add  1  to  it n  +  1 

Add  1  to  this n  +  2 

Multiply  these  three  numbers 
together  .  n  x  (n  +  1)  X  (n  +  2) 

Divide  by  1  x  2  x  3. 

Theresultis        .        .        .         ^(^+l)(^+2) 

This  rule  will,  upon  trial,  be  found  to  give  correctly  eyery 
tabular  number. 

By  similar  reasoning  we  might  arriye  at  the  knowledge  of 
the  number  of  cannon  balls  in  square  and  rectangular 
pyramids.  But  it  is  presumed  that  enough  has  been  stated 
to  enable  the  reader  to  form  some  general  notion  of  the 
method  of  calculating  arithmetical  Tables  by  differences 
which  are  constant 

It  may  now  be  stated  that  mathematicians  have  discovered 
that  all  the  Tables  most  important  for  practical  purposes,  such 
as  those  relating  to  Astronomy  and  Navigation,  can,  although 
they  may  not  possess  any  constant  differences,  still  be  calcu- 
lated in  detached  portions  by  that  method. 

Hence  the  importance  of  having  machinery  to  calculate  by 
differences,  which,  if  well  made,  cannot  err ;  and  which,  if  care- 
lessly set,  presents  in  the  last  term  it  calculates  the  power  of 
verification  of  every  antecedent  terra. 

Of  the  Meehanieal  Arrangements  necessary  for  eamjmHnff 
Tables  by  the  Method  of  Differences. 

From  the  preceding  explanation  it  appears  that  all  Tables 
may  be  calculated,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  by  the  method 
of  Differences.     That   method    requires,   for  its  successful 


58  ADDITION. 

execution,  little  beyond  mechanical  means  of  performing  the 
arithmetical  operation  of  Addition.  Subtraction  can,  by  the 
aid  of  a  well-known  artifice,  be  converted  into  Addition. 

The  process  of  Addition  includes  two  distinct  parts — 
1st.  Tlie  first  consists  of  the  addition  of  any  one  digit  to 
another  digit ;  2nd.  The  second  consists  in  carrying  the  tens 
to  the  next  digit  above. 

Let  us  take  the  case  of  the  addition  of  the  two  following 
numbers,  in  which  no  carriages  occur : — 

6023 
1970 

7993 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  making  this  addition,  the  mind 
•acts  by  successive  steps.     The  person  adding  says  to  himself — 

0  and  3  make  three, 
7  and  2  make  nine, 
9  and  0  make  nine, 

1  and  6  make  seven. 

In  Uie  following  addition  there  are  several  carriages : — 

2648 
4564 

7212 

Tlie  person  adding  says  to  himself — 

4  and  8  make  12 :  put  down  2  and  carry  one. 
1  and  6  are  7  and  4  make  11 :  put  down  1  and  carry  one. 
1  and  5  are  6  and  6  make  12 :  put  down  2  and  carry  one. 
1  and  4  are  5  and  2  make    7 :  put  down  7. 

Now,  the  length  of  time  required  for  adding  one  number  to 
another  is  mainly  dependent  upon  the  number  of  figures  to 


CARRIAGE.  59 

be  added.  If  we  could  tell  the  average  time  required  by 
the  mind  to  add  two  figures  together,  the  time  required  for 
adding  any  given  number  of  figures  to  another  equal  number 
would  be  found  by  multiplying  that  average  time  by  the 
number  of  digits  in  either  number. 

When  we  attempt  to  perform  such  additions  by  machinery 
we  might  follow  exactly  the  usual  process  of  the  human  mind. 
In  that  case  we  might  take  a  series  of  wheels,  each  having 
marked  on  its  edges  the  digits  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9. 
These  wheels  might  be  placed  above  each  other  upon  an  axis. 
The  lowest  would  indicate  the  units'  figure,  the  next  above 
the  tens,  and  so  on,  as  in  the  Difference  Engine  at  the 
Exhibition,  a  woodcut  of  which  faces  the  title-page. 

Several  such  axes,  with  their  figure  wheels,  might  be 
placed  around  a  system  of  central  wheels,  with  which  the 
wheels  of  any  one  or  more  axes  might  at  times  be  made  to 
gear.  Thus  the  figures  on  any  one  axis  might,  by  means  of 
those  central  wheels,  be  added  to  the  figure  wheels  of  any 
other  axis. 

But  it  may  fairly  be  expected,  and  it  is  indeed  of  great 
importance  that  calculations  made  by  machinery  should  not 
merely  be  exact,  but  that  they  should  be  done  in  a  much 
shorter  time  than  those  performed  by  the  human  mind.  Sup- 
pose there  were  no  tens  to  carry,  as  in  the  first  of  the  two 
cases ;  then,  if  we  possessed  mechanism  capable  of  adding  any 
one  digit  to  any  other  in  the  units'  place  of  figures,  a  similar 
mechanism  might  be  placed  above  it  to  add  the  tens'  figures, 
and  so  on  for  as  many  figures  as  might  be  required. 

But  in  this  case,  since  there  are  no  carriages,  each  digit 
might  be  added  to  its  corresponding  digit  at  the  same  tima 
Thus,  the  time  of  adding  by  means  of  mechanism,  any  two 
numbers,  however  many  figures  they  might  consist  of,  would 


60  SUCCESSIVE  CARRIAGE. 

not  exceed  that  of  adding  a  single  digit  to  another  digit  If 
this  could  be  accomplished  it  would  render  additions  and 
subtractions  with  numbers  having  ten,  twenty,  fifty,  or  any 
number  of  figures,  as  rapid  as  those  operations  are  with  single 
figures. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  case  in  which  there  were  several 
carriages.  Its  successive  stages  may  be  better  explained,  thus — 

2648 

4584 

Stages.  

1  Add  units'  figure  =  4     .        .        .        2642 

2  Carry 1 

2652 

3  Add  tens'  figure  =  8       .        .        .  8 

2632 

4  Carry 1 

2732 

5  Add  hundreds'  figure  »  5        .        .  5 

2232 

6  Carry 1 

3232 

7  Add  thousands'  figure  =  4      .        .        4 

7232 

8  Carry  0.    ^Fhere  is  no  carr. 

Now  if ,  as  in  this  case,  all  the  carriages  were  known,  it 
would  then  be  possible  to  make  all  the  additions  of  digits  at 
the  same  time,  provided  we  could  also  record  each  carriage  as 
it  became  due.  We  might  then  complete  the  addition  by 
adding,  at  the  same  instant,  each  carriage  in  its  proper  place. 
The  process  would  then  stand  thus : — 


SUCCE8SIVB  CABRIAGE.  61 

2648 
4564 


Stages       .     gio2     Add  each  digit  to  the  digit  above, 
t     111       Record  the  carriages. 

2  {     7212     Add  the  above  carriages. 

NoWy  whatever  mechanism  is  contrived  for  adding  any  one 
digit  to  any  other  must,  of  coursOy  be  able  to  add  the  largest 
digit,  nine,  to  that  other  digit.  Supposing,  therefore,  one 
unit  of  number  to  be  passed  over  in  one  second  of  time,  it  is 
evident  that  any  number  of  pairs  of  digits  may  be  added 
together  in  nine  seconds,  and  that,  when  all  the  consequent 
carriages  are  known,  as  in  the  above  case,  it  will  cost  one 
second  more  to  make  those  carriages.  Thus,  addition  and 
carriage  would  be  completed  in  ten  seconds,  even  though  the 
numbers  consisted  each  of  a  hundred  figures. 

But,  unfortunately,  there  are  multitudes  of  cases  in  which 
the  carriages  that  become  due  are  only  known  in  successive 
periods  of  time.  As  an  example,  add  together  the  two  follow- 
ing numbers : — 


Stages 

1  Add  all  the  digits     . 

2  Carry  on  tens  and  warn  next  car. 

8473 
1528 

9991 
1 

3  Garry  on  hundreds,  and  ditto 

9901 
1 

4  Cany  on  thouHands,  and  ditto   . 

9001 
1 

5  Carry  on  ten  thousands     . 

00001 
.      1 

10001 


62  SUCCESSIVE  CARRIAGE. 

In  this  case  the  carriages  only  become  known  successively, 
and  they  amount  to  the  number  of  figures  to  be  added ;  con- 
sequently, the  mere  addition  of  two  numbers^  each  of  fifty 
places  of  figures,  would  require  only  nine  seconds  of  time, 
whilst  the  possible  carriages  would  consume  fifty  seconds. 

The  mechanical  means  I  employed  to  make  these  carriages 
bears  some  slight  analogy  to  the  operation  of  the  faculty  of 
memory.  A  toothed  wheel  had  the  ten  digits  marked  upon 
its  edge ;  between  the  nine  and  the  zero  a  projecting  tooth 
was  placed.  Whenever  any  wheel,  in  receiving  addition, 
passed  from  nine  to  zero,  the  projecting  tooth  pushed  over  a 
certain  lever.  Thus,  as  soon  as  the  nine  seconds  of  time  re- 
quired for  addition  were  ended,  every  carriage  which  had 
become  due  was  indicated  by  the  altered  position  of  its  lever. 
An  arm  now  went  round,  which  was  so  contrived  that  the 
act  of  replacing  that  lever  caused  the  carriage  which  its  ^ 
position  indicated  to  be  made  to  the  next  figure  above. 
But  this  figure  might  be  a  nine,  in  which  case,  in  passing  to 
zero,  it  would  put  over  its  lever,  and  so  on.  By  placing  the 
arms  spirally  round  an  axis,  these  successive  carriages  were 
accomplished. 

Multitudes  of  contrivances  were  designed,  and  almost 
endless  drawings  made,  for  the  purpose  of  economizing  the 
time  and  simplifying  the  mechanism  of  carriage.  In  that 
portion  of  tlie  Difference  Engine  in  the  Exhibition  of  1862 
the  time  of  carriage  has  been  reduced  to  about  one-foiulh 
part  of  what  was  at  first  required. 

At  last  having  exhausted,  during  years  of  labour,  the 
principle  of  successive  carriages,  it  occurred  to  me  that  it 
might  be  possible  to  teach  mechanism  to  accomplish  another 
mental  process,  namely — to  foresee.  This  idea  occurred  to 
me  in  October,  1834.     It  cost  me  much  thought,  but  the 


ANTICIPATING  CARRIAGE.  68 

principle  was  arriyed  at  in  a  short  time.  As  soon  as  that  was 
attained,  the  next  step  was  to  teach  the  mechanism  which 
could  foresee  to  act  upon  that  foresight.  This  was  not  so 
difficult :  certain  mechanical  means  were  soon  devised  which, 
although  very  far  from  simple,  were  yet  sufficient  to  demon- 
strate the  possibility  of  constructing  such  machinery. 

The  process  of  simplifying  this  form  of  carriage  occupied 
me,  at  intervals,  during  a  long  series  of  years.  The  demands 
of  the  Analytical  Engine,  for  the  mechanical  execution  of 
arithmetical  operations,  were  of  the  most  extensive  kind. 
The  multitude  of  similar  parts  required  by  the  Analytical 
Engine,  amounting  in  some  instances  to  upwards  of  fifty 
thousand,  rendered  any,  even  the  simplest^  improvement  of 
each  part  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance,  more  especially 
as  regarded  the  diminished  amount  of  expenditure  for  its 
construction. 

Description  of  the  existing  portion  of  Difference  Engine  No.  1. 

That  portion  of  Difference  Engine,  No.  1,  which  during  the 
last  twenty  years  has  been  in  the  museum  of  King's  College, 
at  Somerset  House,  is  represented  in  the  woodcut  opposite 
the  title  page. 

It  consists  of  three  columns;  each  column  contains  six 
cages ;  each  cage  contains  one  figure-wheeL 

The  column  on  the  right  hand  has  its  lowest  figure-wheel 
covered  by  a  shade  which  is  never  removed,  and  to  which  the 
reader's  attention  need  not  be  directed. 

The  figure-wheel  next  above  may  be  placed  by  hand  at  any 
one  of  the  ten  digits.    In  the  woodcut  it  stands  at  zero. 

The  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  cages  are  exactly  the  same  as 
the  second. 

The  sixth  cage  contains  exactly  the  same  as  the  four  just 


64  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  NO.  1. 

described.  It  also  contains  two  other  figure-wheels,  which 
with  a  similar  one  above  the  frame,  may  also  be  dismissed 
from  the  reader  8  attention*  Those  wheels  are  entirely  mi- 
connected  with  the  moving  part  of  the  engine,  and  are  only 
used  for  memoranda. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  there  are  in  the  first  column  on 
the  right  hand  five  figure-wheels,  each  of  which  may  be  set 
by  hand  to  any  of  the  figures  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9. 

The  lowest  of  these  figure-wheels  represents  the  unit's 
figure  of  any  number ;  the  next  above  the  ten's  figure,  and  so 
on.  The  highest  figure-wheel  will  therefore  represent  tens 
of  thousands. 

Now,  as  each  of  these  figure-wheels  may  be  set  by  hand  to 
any  digit,  it  is  possible  to  place  on  the  first  column  any 
number  up  to  99999.  It  is  on  these  wheels  that  the  Table 
to  be  calculated  by  the  engine  is  expressed.  This  column  is 
called  the  Table  column,  and  the  axis  of  the  wheels  the  Table 
axis. 

The  second  or  middle  column  has  also  six  cages,  in  each  of 
which  a  figure-wheel  is  placed.  It  will  be  observed  that  in 
the  lowest  cage,  the  figure  on  the  wheel  is  concealed  by  a 
shade.  It  may  therefore  be  dismissed  frx)m  the  attention. 
The  five  other  figure-wheels  are  exactly  like  the  figure-wheels 
on  the  Table  axis,  and  can  also  represent  any  number  up  to 
99999. 

This  column  is  called  the  First  Difierence  column,  and  the 
axis  is  called  the  First  DifTerence  axis. 

The  third  column,  which  is  that  on  the  left  hand,  has  also 
six  cages,  in  each  of  which  is  a  figure-wheel  capable  of  being 
set  by  hand  to  any  digit 

The  mechanism  is  so  contrived  that  whatever  may  be  the 
numbers  placed  respectively  on  the  figure-wheels  of  each  of 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  66 

the  three  columns^  the  following  succession  of  operations  will 
take  place  as  long  as  the  handle  is  moved : — 

1st  Whatever  number  is  found  upon  the  column  of  first 
di£ferences  will  be  added  to  the  number  found  upon  the 
Table  column* 

2nd.  The  same  first  difference  remaining  upon  its  own 
column,  the  number  found  upon  the  column  of  second  differ- 
ences will  be  added  to  that  first  difference. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  with  this  small  portion  of  the 
Engine  any  Table  may  be  computed  by  the  method  of  differ- 
ences, provided  neither  the  Table  itself,  nor  its  first  and  second 
differences,  exceed  five  places  of  figures. 

If  the  whole  Engine  had  been  completed  it  would  have  had 
six  orders  of  differences,  each  of  twenty  places  of  figures, 
whilst  the  three  first  columns  would  each  have  had  hcdf  a 
dozen  additional  figures. 

This  is  the  simplest  explanation  of  that  portion  of  the 
Difference  Engine  No.  1,  at  the  Exhibition  of  1862.  There 
are,  however,  certain  modifications  in  this  fragment  which 
render  its  exhibition  more  instructive,  and  which  even  give  a 
mechanical  insight  into  those  higher  powers  with  which  I  had 
endowed  it  in  its  complete  state. 

As  a  matter  of  convenience  in  exhibiting  it,  there  is  an 
arrangement  by  which  the  three  upper  figures  of  the  second 
difference  are  transformed  into  a  small  engine  which  counts 
the  natural  numbers. 

By  this  means  it  can  be  set  to  compute  any  Table  whose 
second  difference  is  constant  and  less  than  1000,  whilst  at  the 
same  time  it  thus  shows  the  position  in  the  Table  of  each 
tabular  number. 

In  the  existing  portion  there  are  three  bells ;  they  can  ha 
respectively  ordered  to  ring  when  the  Table,  its  first  difference 

F 


6G  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1. 

and  its  second  difference,  pass  from  positive  to  negative. 
Several  weeks  after  the  machine  had  been  placed  in  my  draw- 
ing-room, a  friend  came  by  appointment  to  test  its  power  of 
calculating  Tables.  After  the  Engine  had  computed  several 
Tables,  I  remarked  that  it  was  evidently  finding  the  root  of  a 
quadratic  equation;  I  therefore  set  the  bells  to  watch  it. 
After  some  time  the  proper  bell  sounded  twice,  indicating, 
and  giving  the  two  positive  roots  to  be  28  and  30.  The  Table 
thus  calculated  related  to  the  barometer  and  really  involved  a 
quadratic  equation,  although  its  maker  had  not  previously 
observed  it  I  afterwards  set  the  Engine  to  tabulate  a  for- 
mula containing  impossible  roots,  and  of  course  the  other 
bell  warned  me  when  it  had  attained  those  roots.  I  had 
never  before  used  these  bells,  simply  because  I  did  not  think 
the  power  it  thus  possessed  to  be  of  any  practical  utility. 

Again,  the  lowest  cages  of  the  Table,  and  of  the  first  differ- 
ence, have  been  made  use  of  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating 
three  important  faculties  of  the  finished  engine. 

Ist  The  portion  exhibited  can  calculate  any  Table  whose 
third  difference  is  constant  and  less  than  10. 

2nd.  It  can  be  used  to  show  how  much  more  rapidly  astro- 
nomical Tables  can  be  calculated  in  an  engine  in  which  there 
is  no  constant  difference. 

3rd.  It  can  be  employed  to  illustrate  those  singular  laws 
which  might  continue  to  be  produced  through  ages,  and  yet 
after  an  enormous  interval  of  time  change  into  otlier  dif- 
ferent laws;  each  again  to  exist  for  ages,  and  then  to  be 
superseded  by  new  laws.  Tliese  views  were  first  proposed  in 
the  "  Ninth  Bridgewater  Treatise." 

Amongst  the  various  questions  which  have  been  asked 
respecting  the  Difference  Engine,  I  will  mention  a  few  of 
the  most  remarkable : — One  gentleman  addressed  mo  thus : 


CURIOUS  QUESTIONS.  67 

"  Pray,  Mr.  Babbage,  can  you  explain  to  me  in  two  words 
"  what  is  the  principle  of  this  machine  ?"  Had  the  qnerist 
possessed  a  moderate  acquaintance  with  mathematics  I  might 
in  four  words  have  conveyed  to  him  the  required  information 
by  answering,  "The  method  of  diflTerences."  The  question 
might  indeed  have  been  answered  with  six  characters  thus — 

A'^tt,  =  0. 

but  such  information  would  have  been  unintelligible  to  such 
inquirers. 

On  two  occasions  I  have  been  asked, — "  Pray,  Mr.  Babbage, 
"  if  you  put  into  the  machine  wrong  figures,  will  the  right 
"  answers  come  out  ?"  In  one  case  a  member  of  the  Upper, 
and  in  the  other  a  member  of  the  Lower,  House  put  this 
question.  I  am  not  able  rightly  to  apprehend  the  kind  of 
confusion  of  ideas  that  could  provoke  such  a  question.  I  did, 
however,  explain  the  following  property,  which  nught  in  some 
measure  approach  towards  an  answer  to  it. 

It  is  possible  to  construct  the  Analytical  Engine  in  such  a 
manner  that  after  the  question  is  once  communicated  to  the 
engine,  it  may  be  stopped  at  any  turn  of  the  handle  and  set 
on  again  as  often  as  may  be  desired.  At  each  stoppage  every 
figure-wheel  throughout  the  Engine,  which  is  capable  of  being 
moved  without  breaking,  may  be  moved  on  to  any  other 
digit  Yet  after  each  of  these  apparent  falsifications  the 
engine  will  be  found  to  make  the  next  calculation  with 
perfect  truth. 

The  explanation  is  very  simple,  and  the  property  itself 
useless.  The  whole  of  the  mechanism  ought  of  course  to  be 
enclosed  in  glass,  and  kept  under  lock  and  key,  in  which  case 
the  mechanism  necessary  to  give  it  the  property  alluded  to 
would  be  useless. 

f2 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Statement  relative  to  the  Difference  Engine,  drawn  np  by  the  late 
Sir  H.  Nicolas  from  the  Author's  Papers. 

The  following  statement  was  drawn  up  by  the  late  Sir 
Harris  Nicolas,  G.S.5L  &  G.,  from  papers  and  documents  in 
my  possession  relating  to  the  Difference  Engine.  I  believe 
eyery  paper  I  possessed  at  all  bearing  on  the  subject  was  in 
his  hands  for  several  months. 

For  some  time  previous  to  1822,  Mr.  Babbage  had  been 
engaged  in  contriving  machinery  for  the  execution  of  exten- 
sive arithmetical  operations,  and  in  devising  mechanism  by 
which  the  machine  that  made  the  calculations  might  also 
print  the  results. 

On  the  3rd  of  July,  1822,  he  published  a  letter  to  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  President  of  the  Royal  Society,  containing 
a  statement  of  his  views  on  that  subject ;  and  more  particu- 
larly describing  an  Engine  for  calculating  astronomical,  nau- 
tical, and  other  Tables,  by  means  of  the  *'  method  of  differ^ 
ences."  In  that  letter  it  is  stated  that  a  small  Model,  con- 
sisting of  six  figures,  and  capable  of  working  two  orders  of 
differences,  had  been  constructed ;  and  that  it  performed  its 
work  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

The  concluding  paragraph  of  that  letter  is  as  follows : — 

**  \Miether  I  shall  construct  a  larger  Engine  of  this  kind,  and  l)rui<;  to 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  69 

perfection  the  others  I  have  described,  will,  in  a  great  measure,  depend  on 
the  nature  of  the  encouragement  I  may  receive. 

"  Induced,  by  a  conviction  of  the  great  utility  of  such  Engines,  to  with- 
draw, for  some  time,  my  attention  from  a  subject  on  which  it  has  been 
engaged  during  several  years,  and  which  possesses  charms  of  a  higher  order, 
I  have  now  arrived  at  a  point  where  success  is  no  longer  doubtfuL  It 
must,  however,  be  attained  at  a  very  considerable  expense,  which  would  not 
probably  be  replaced,  by  the  works  it  might  produce,  for  a  long  period  of 
time ;  and  which  is  an  undertaking  I  should  feel  unwilling  to  commence, 
as  altogether  foreign  to  my  habits  and  pursuits." 

The  Model  alluded  to  had  been  shown  to  a  large  number 
of  Mr.  Babbage's  acquaintances,  and  to  many  other  persons ; 
and  copies  of  his  letter  having  been  given  to  several  of  his 
friends,  it  is  probable  that  one  of  the  copies  was  sent  to  the 
Treasury. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1823,  the  Lords  of  the  Treasuiy  re- 
ferred that  Letter  to  the  Eoyal  Society,  requesting — 

**  The  opinion  of  the  Boyal  Society  on  the  merits  and  utility  of  this 
invention ." 

On  the  1st  of  May  the  Eoyal  Society  reported  to  the  Trea- 
sury, that— 

**  Mr.  Babbage  has  displayed  great  talent  and  ingenuity  in  the  construc- 
tion of  his  Machine  for  Computation,  which  the  Committee  think  fully 
adequate  to  the  attainment  of  the  objects  proposed  by  the  inventor ;  and 
they  consider  Mr.  Babbage  as  highly  deserving  of  public  encouragement, 
in  Uie  prosecution  of  his  arduous  undertaking."  * 

On  the  21st  of  May  these  papers  were  ordered  to  be  printed 
by  the  House  of  Commons. 

In  July,  1823,  Mr.  Babbage  had  an  interview  with  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Bobinsont),  to  ascertain  if 
it  was  the  wish  of  the  Government  that  he  should  construct  a 
large  Engine  of  the  kind,  which  would  also  print  the  results 
it  calculated. 

♦  ParUamentary  Paper,  No.  370,  printed  22nd  May^  1823. 
t  Afterwards  Lord  Goderich,  now  Earl  of  Ripon. 


70  STATEMENT. 

From  the  ooiiTerBation  which  took  place  on  that  occasion, 
Hr.  Babbage  apprehended  that  soch  was  the  wish  of  the  Go- 
Temment  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  remarked  that 
the  GoTemment  were  in  general  unwilling  to  make  grants  <^ 
money  for  any  iuTentionSy  howeyer  meritorious ;  because,  if 
they  really  possessed  the  merit  claimed  for  them,  the  sale  of 
the  article  produced  would  be  the  best,  as  well  as  largest 
reward  of  the  inventor:  but  that  the  present  case  was  an 
exception  ;  it  being  apparent  that  the  construction  of  such  a 
Machine  could  not  be  undertaken  with  a  view  to  profit  from 
the  sale  of  its  produce ;  and  that,  as  mathematical  Tables 
were  peculiarly  valuable  for  nautical  purposes,  it  was  deemed 
a  fit  object  of  encouragement  by  the  Government. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  mentioned  two  modes  of 
advancing  money  for  the  construction : — either  through  the 
recommendation  of  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
or  by  taking  a  sum  from  the  Civil  Contingencies :  and  he  ob- 
served that,  as  the  Session  of  Parliament  was  near  its  termina- 
tion, the  latter  course  might,  perhaps,  be  the  most  convenient. 

Mr.  Babbage  thinks  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  also 
made  some  observation,  indicating  that  the  amount  of  money 
taken  from  the  Civil  Contingencies  would  be  smaller  than 
that  which  might  be  had  by  means  of  a  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons:  and  he  then  proposed  to  take  1,0002.  as 
a  commencement  from  the  Ci^-il  Contingencies  Fund.  To  this 
Mr.  Babbage  replied,  in  words  which  he  distinctly  remembers, 
**  Would  it  be  too  much,  in  the  first  instance,  to  take  1,500Z.  ?** 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  immediately  answered,  that 
1,500/.  should  be  advanced. 

Mr.  Babbage's  opinion  at  that  time  was,  that  the  Engine 
would  be  completed  in  two,  or  at  the  most  in  three  years ; 
and  that  by  having  1,500/.  in  the  first  instance,  he  would  be 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  71 

enabled  to  advance,  from  his  own  priyate  funds,  the  reddne 
of  the  3,00021,  or  even  5,000/.,  which  he  then  imagined  the 
Engine  might  possibly  cost ;  so  that  he  would  not  again  have 
occasion  to  apply  to  Goyemment  until  it  was  completed. 
Some  obseryations  were  made  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer about  the  mode  of  accounting  for  the  money  receiyed, 
as  well  as  about  its  expenditure;  but  it  seemed  to  be  ad- 
mitted that  it  was  not  possible  to  prescribe  any  yery  definite 
system,  and  that  much  must  be  left  to  Mr.  Babbage's  own 
judgment. 

Very  unfortunately,  no  Minute  of  that  conyersation  was 
made  at  the  time,  nor  was  any  sufficiently  distinct  under- 
standing between  the  parties  arriyed  at.  Mr.  Babbage's  con- 
yiction  was,  that  whatever  might  be  the  labour  and  difficulty 
of  the  undertaking,  ihe  Engine  itself  would,  of  course,  be- 
come the  property  of  the  Goyemment,  which  had  paid  for  its 
construction. 

Soon  after  this  interview  with  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  a  letter  was  sent  from  the  Treasury  to  the  Boyal 
Society,  informing  that  body  that  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury 

"  Had  directed  the  issue  of  1,500Z.  to  Mr.  Babbage,  to  enable  him  to  bring 
his  invention  to  perfection,  in  the  manner  recommended.'* 

These  latter  words,  "  in  the  manner  recommended^'*  can  only 
refer  to  the  previous  recommendation  of  the  Boyal  Society ; 
but  it  does  not  appear,  from  the  Eeport  of  the  Boyal  Society, 
that  any  plan,  ierma,  or  conditions  had  been  pointed  out  by 
that  body. 

Towards  the  end  of  July,  1823,  Mr.  Babbage  took  measures 
for  the  construction  of  the  present  Difference  Engine,*  and  it 
was  regularly  proceeded  with  for  four  years. 

*  Sec  Note  on  next  page. 


72  STATEMENT. 

Jh  October,  1827,  the  expense  incurred  bad  amounted  to 
8,475/. ;  and  Mr.  Babbage  having  suffered  severe  domestic 
affliction,  and  being  in  a  very  ill  state  of  health,  was  recom- 
mended by  his  medical  advisers  to  travel  on  the  Continent. 
He  left,  however,  sufficient  drawings  to  enable  the  work  to 
be  continued,  and  gave  an  order  to  his  own  banker  to  advance 
1,000/.  during  his  absence:  he  also  received,  from  time  to 
time,  drawings  and  inquiries  relating  to  the  mechanism,  and 
returned  instructions  to  the  engineer  who  was  constructing  it. 

As  it  now  appeared  probable  that  the  expense  would  much 
exceed  what  Mr.  Babbage  had  originally  anticipated,  he 
thought  it  desirable  to  inform  the  Government  of  that  fact, 
and  to  procure  a  further  grant.  As  a  preliminary  step,  he 
wrote  from  Italy  to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Wolryche  Whit- 
more,  to  request  that  he  would  see  Lord  Goderich  upon  the 
subject  of  the  interview  in  July,  1823 ;  but  it  is  probable 
that  he  did  not  sufficiently  inform  Mr.  Whitmore  of  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case. 

Mr.  Whitmore,  having  had  some  conversation  with  Lord 
Goderich  on  the  subject,  addressed  a  letter,  dated  on  the  29th 
of  February,  1828,  to  Mr.  Babbage,  who  was  then  at  Kome, 
stating  that 

"  That  intenriew  was  unsatisfactory ;  that  Lord  (jU)dorich  did  not  like  to 
admit  that  there  was  any  understanding,  at  the  time  the  1,500^.  was 
advanced,  that  more  would  be  given  by  Government." 

On  Mr.  Babbage's  return  to  England,  towards  the  end  of 


Note. — ^It  will  be  convenient  to  distinguish  between — 

1.  The  smaU  Model  of  the  original  or  Difference  Engine. 

2.  The  Difference  Engine  itself,  belonging  to  the  Government,  a  part 

only  of  which  has  been  put  together. 

3.  The  designs  for  another  Engine^  which  in  this  Statement  is  called 

the  Analytical  Engine. 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  78 

1828,  he  waited  in  person  upon  Lord  Goderich,  who  admitted 
that  the  understanding  of  1823  was  not  very  definite.  He 
then  addressed  a  statement  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  as  the 
head  of  the  Goyemment,  explaining  the  previous  steps  in  the 
affair ;  stating  the  reasons  for  his  inferences  from  what  took 
place  at  the  interview  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
in  July,  1823  ;  and  referring  his  Grace  for  ftirther  informa- 
tion to  Lord  Gt)derich,  to  whom  also  he  sent  a  copy  of  that 
statement 

The  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  consequence  of  this  applica- 
tion, requested  the  Boyal  Society  to  inquire — 

*'  Whether  the  progress  of  the  Machine  confinns  them  in  their  former 
opinion,  that  it  will  ultimately  prove  adequate  to  the  important  object  it 
was  intended  to  attain." 

The  Boyal  Society  reported,  in  February,  1829,  that — 

''They  had  not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  pronouncing  their  decided 
opinion  in  the  affirmative.'* 

The  Koyal  Society  also  expressed  their  hope  that — 

''  Whilst  Mr.  6abbage*s  mind  is  intensely  occupied  in  an  undertaking 
likely  to  do  so  much  honour  to  his  country,  he  may  be  relieved,  as  much  as 
possible,  from  all  other  sources  of  anxiety." 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1829,  a  Treasury  Minute  directed  a 
further  payment  to  Mr.  Babbage  of 

**  1,500?.  to  enable  him  to  complete  the  Machine  by  which  such  important 
benefit  to  Science  might  be  expected." 

At  that  time  the  sum  expended  on  the  Engine  amounted 
to  6,6971 12«.,  of  which  3,000Z.  had  been  received  from  the 
Treasury;  so  that  Mr.  Babbage  had  provided  3,6972.  128. 
from  his  own  private  funds. 

Under  these  circumstances,  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Wolryche 
Whitmore,  a  meeting  of  Mr.  Babbage's  personal  friends  was 
held  on  the  12th  of  May,  1829.     It  consisted  of— 


74  STATEMENT. 

The  Duke  of  Somerset, 

Lord  Ashley, 

Sir  John  Franklin, 

Mr.  Wolryche  Whitmore, 

Dr.  Fitton, 

Mr.  Francis  Baily, 

Mr.  (now  Sir  John)  Herschel. 

Being  satisfied,  upon  inquiry,  of  the  following  facts,  tliey 
came  to  the  annexed  resolutions  : — 

**  Ist.  That  Mr.  Babbage  was  originally  induced  to  take  up  the  work,  on 
its  present  extensive  scale,  by  an  understanding  on  his  part  that  it  was  the 
wish  of  Government  that  he  should  do  so,  and  by  an  advance  of  1,500/,  at 
the  outset ;  with  a  full  impression  on  his  mind,  that  such  further  advances 
would  be  made  as  the  work  might  require. 

**  2nd.  That  Mr.  Babbage's  expenditure  had  amounted  to  nearly  7,000?., 
while  the  whole  sum  advanced  by  Government  was  3,000/. 

'*  3rd.  That  Mr.  Babbage  had  devoted  the  most  assiduous  and  anxious 
attention  to  the  progress  of  the  Engine,  to  the  injury  of  his  health,  and  the 
neglect  and  refusal  of  other  profitable  occupations. 

**  4th.  That  a  very  large  expense  remained  to  be  incurred ;  and  that  his 
private  fortune  was  not  such  as  would  justify  his  completing  the  Engine, 
without  further  and  effectual  assistance  from  Government. 

**  5th.  That  a  personal  application  upon  the  subject  should  be  made  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

**  6th.  That  if  such  application  should  be  unsuccessful  in  procuring  effec- 
tual and  adequate  assistance,  they  must  regard  Mr.  Babbage  (considering 
the  great  pecuniary  and  personal  sacrifices  ho  will  then  have  made ;  the 
entire  expenditure  of  all  he  had  received  from  the  public  on  the  subject 
of  its  destination ;  and  the  moral  certainty  of  completing  it,  to  which  it 
was,  by  his  exertions,  reduced)  as  no  longer  called  on  to  proceed  with  an 
undertaking  which  might  destroy  his  health,  and  injure,  if  not  ruin,  his 
fortune. 

*•  7th.  That  Mr.  Wolryche  Whitmore  and  Mr.  Herschel  should  request 
an  interview  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  to  state  to  his  Grace  these 
opinions  on  the  subject.'* 

Mr.  Whitmore  and  Mr.  Herschel  accordingly  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  Duke  of  Wellington ;  and  some  time  after  they 
were  informed  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  to  whom 
they  had  applied  for  his  Grace's  answer,  that  tlie  Duke  of 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  76 

Wellington  intended  to  see  the  portion  of  the  Engine  which 
had  been  then  made. 

In  November,  1829,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  accompanied 
by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Goulbum)  and 
Lord  Ashley,  saw  the  Model  of  the  Engine,  the  drawings,  and 
the  parts  in  progress.  On  the  23rd  of  that  month  Mr.  Babbage 
received  a  note  from  Mr.  Groulbum,  dated  on  the  20th,  in- 
forming him  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  himself  had 
recommended  the  Treasury  to  make  a  further  payment  to- 
wards the  completion  of  the  Machine ;  and  that  their  Lord- 
ships had  in  consequence  directed  a  payment  of  3,0007.  to  be 
made  to  him.  This  letter  also  contained  a  suggestion  about 
separating  the  Calculating  from  the  Printing  part  of  the 
Machine,  which  was  repeated  in  the  letter  from  the  Treasury 
of  the  3rd  of  December,  1829,  communicitting  oflScially  the 
information  contained  in  Mr.  Goulbum's  private  note,  and 
stating  that  directions  had  been  given — 

"  To  pay  to  you  the  further  sum  of  3,000?.,  to  enable  you  to  complete 
the  Machine  which  you  have  invented  for  the  calculation  of  various  tables ; 
but  I  have  to  intimate  to  you  that,  in  making  this  additional  payment,  my 
Lords  think  it  extremely  desirable  that  the  Machine  should  lie  so  con- 
structed, that,  if  any  failure  should  take  place  in  the  attempt  to  print  by 
it,  the  calculating  part  of  the  Machine  may  nevertheless  be  perfect  and 
available  for  that  object." 

Mr.  Babbage  inferred  from  this  ftirther  grant,  that  Govern- 
ment had  adopted  his  view  of  the  arrangement  entered  into 
with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  July,  1823 ;  but,  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  diflBculty  from  any  remaining  in- 
distinctness, he  wrote  to  Mr.  Goulbum,  stating  that^  before 
he  received  the  3,000?.,  he  wished  to  propose  some  general 
arrangements  for  expediting  the  completion  of  the  Engine, 
further  notes  of  which  he  would  shortly  submit  to  him.  On 
the  25th  of  November,  1829,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Lord 


76  STATEMENT. 

Ashley,  to  be  communicated  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, stating  the  gi^^unds  on  which  he  thought  the  fol- 
lowing arrangements  desirable : — 

1st  That  the  Engine  should  be  considered  as  the  property 
of  Government. 

2nd.  That  professional  engineers  should  be  appointed  by 
Government  to  examine  the  charges  made  for  the  work 
already  executed,  as  well  as  for  its  future  progress ;  and  that 
such  charges  should  be  defrayed  by  Government. 

3rd.  That  under  this  arrangement  he  himself  should  con- 
tinue to  direct  the  construction  of  the  Engine,  as  he  had 
hitherto  done. 

Mr.  Babbage  also  stated  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  sus- 
pend the  work  for  nearly  nine  months ;  and  that  such  delay 
risked  the  final  completion  of  the  Engine. 

In  reply  to  these  suggestions,  Mr.  Goulbum  wrote  to  Lord 
Ashley,  stating — 

**  That  we  (tho  Government)  could  not  adopt  the  conrse  which 
Mr.  Babbage  had  pointed  out,  consistently  with  the  principle  on  which 
we  have  rendered  him  assistance  in  the  construction  of  his  Machine,  and 
without  considerable  inconvenience.  Tlie  view  of  the  Government  was,  to 
assist  an  able  and  ingenious  man  of  science,  whose  zeal  had  induced  him  to 
exceed  the  limits  of  prudence,  in  the  construction  of  a  work  which  would, 
if  successful,  redound  to  his  honour,  and  be  of  great  public  advantage.  We 
feel  ourselves,  therefore,  under  the  necessity  of  adhering  to  our  original 
intention,  as  expressed  in  tho  Minute  of  the  Treasury,  which  granted 
Mr.  Babbage  the  last  8,000/.,  and  in  the  letter  in  which  I  informed  him 
of  that  grant." 

Mr.  Goulbum's  letter  was  enclosed  by  Lord  Asliley  to 
Mr.  Babbage,  with  a  note,  in  which  his  Lordship  observed, 
vrith  reference  to  Mr.  Goulbum's  opinion,  that  it  was 

"A  wrong  view  of  the  jxwition  in  which  Mr.  Babbage  was  placed,  after 
his  conference  with  Lord  Goderich —which  must  be  explained  to  him 
(Mr.  Goulbum)." 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  I.  77 

**  The  original  intention  "  of  the  Qoveniment  is  here  stated 
to  have  been  commnnicated  to  Mr.  Babbage,  both  in  the 
letter  from  the  Treasury  of  the  3rd  of  December,  1829, 
granting  the  3,000Z.,  and  also  in  Mr.  Goulbum's  private  letter 
of  the  20th  of  November,  1829.  These  letters  have  been  just 
given ;  and  it  certainly  does  not  appear  from  either  of  them, 
that  the  ^^  original  intention^  was  then  in  any  degree  more 
apparent  than  it  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  under- 
taking in  July,  1823. 

On  the  16th  of  December,  1829,  Mr.  Babbage  wrote  to 
Lord  Ashley,  observing,  that  Mr.  Groulbum  seemed  to  think 
that  he  pir.  Babbage]  had  commenced  the  machine  on  his  own 
aocount ;  and  that,  pursuing  it  zealously,  he  had  expended 
more  than  was  prudent,  and  had  then  applied  to  Govern- 
ment for  aid.  He  remarked,  that  a  reference  to  papers  and 
dates  would  confirm  his  own  positive  declaration,  that  this 
was  never  for  one  moment,  in  his  apprehension,  the  ground 
on  which  the  matter  rested;  and  that  the  following  facts 
would  prove  that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  it  could  have 
been  so: — 

Istly.  Mr.  Babbage  referred  to  the  passage*  (already 
quoted)  in  his  letter  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  in  which  he  had 
expressed  his  opinion  as  decidedly  adverse  to  the  plan  of 
making  a  larger  Machine,  on  his  own  account 

2ndly.  Mr.  Babbage  stated  that  the  small  Model  of  the 
Machine  seen  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Mr.  Goulbum, 
was  completed  before  his  interview  with  Lord  Gbderich  in 
July,  1823 ;  for  it  was  alluded  to  in  the  Report  of  the  Royal 
Society,  of  the  1st  of  May,  1823. 

3rdly.  That  the  interview  with  Lord  Goderich  having  taken 
place  in  July,  1823 ;  the  present  Machine  (f.  e,  the  Difference 

•  Sec  iiage  69. 


78  STATEMENT. 

Engine)  was  commenced  in  consequence  of  that  interview; 
and  after  Mr.  Babbage  had  received  the  first  grant  of  1,500?. 
on  the  7th  of  August,  1823. 

Having  thus  shown  that  the  light  in  which  Mr.  Goulbum 
viewed  these  transactions  was  foimded  on  a  misconception, 
Mr.  Babbage  requested  Lord  Ashley  to  inquire  whether  the 
facts  to  which  he  had  called  Mr.  Goulbum's  attention  might 
not  induce  him  to  reconsider  the  subject.  And  in  case  Mr. 
Goulbum  should  decline  revising  his  opinion,  then  he 
wished  Lord  Ashley  to  ascertain  the  opinion  of  Governmenti 
upon  the  contingent  questions  which  he  enclosed ;  viz. — 

1.  Supposing  Mr.  Babbage  receivod  the  3,0007.  now  directed  to  be  issued, 
what  are  the  clxdms  which  Government  will  have  on  the  Engine,  or  on 
himself  ? 

2.  Would  Mr.  Babbage  owe  the  6,000Z.,  or  any  part  of  that  sxun  to  the 
Government? 

If  this  question  be  answered  in  the  negative, 

3.  Is  the  portion  of  the  Engine  now  made,  as  completely  Mr.  Babbage's 
property  as  if  it  had  been  entirely  paid  for  with  his  own  money  ? 

4.  Is  it  expected  by  Government  that  Mr.  Babbage  should  continue  to 
construct  the  Engine  at  his  own  private  expense ;  and,  if  so,  to  what  extent 
in  money  ? 

6.  Supposing  Mr.  Babbage  should  decline  resuming  the  construction  of 
the  Engine,  to  whom  do  the  drawings  and  parts  already  made  belong? 

The  following  statement  was  also  enclosed : — 

Expenses  up  to  9th  May,  1829,  when  the  work  ceased  .    .  ♦  £6,628 

Two  grants  of  1,500/.  each,  amounting  to £3,000 

By  Treasury  Minute,  Nov.  1829,  but  not  yet  received      .      3,000 

6,000 

£628 

In  January,  1830,  Mr.  Babbage  wrote  to  Lord  Qtxierich, 

*  The  difference  between  this  sum  and  6,697/.  12«.  mentioned  in  page  73, 
geems  to  have  arisen  from  the  fact  of  the  former  sum  having  included  the 
estimated  amount  of  a  bill  which,  when  received,  was  found  to  be  less  than 
had  been  anticipated. 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  79 

stating  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Groulbum) 
would  probably  apply  to  his  Lordship  respecting  the  inter- 
view in  July,  1823.  He  therefore  recalled  some  of  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  it  to  Lord  Groderich,  and  concluded 
thus : — 

"  ITie  matter  was,  as  you  have  justly  observed  on  another  occasion,  left, 
in  a  certain  measure,  indefinite;  and  I  have  never  contended  that  any 
promise  was  made  to  me.  My  subsequent  conduct  was  founded  upon  the 
impression  left  on  my  mind  by  that  interview.  I  always  considered  that, 
whatever  difficulties  I  might  encounter,  it  could  never  happen  that  I  should 
ultimately  suffer  any  pecuniary  loss. 

•*  I  understand  that  Mr.  Goulbura  wishes  to  ascertain  from  your  Lordship 
whether,  from  the  nature  of  that  interview,  it  was  reasonable  that  I  should 
have  such  expectation." 

Li  the  mean  time  Mr.  Babbage  had  encountered  diffi- 
culties  of  another  kind.  The  Engineer  who  had  been  con- 
structing the  Engine  under  Mr.  Babbage's  direction  had 
delivered  his  bills  in  such  a  state  that  it  was  impossible  to 
judge  how  far  the  charges  were  just  and  reasonable;  and 
although  Mr.  Babbage  had  paid  several  thousand  pounds,  yet 
there  remained  a  considerable  balance,  which  he  was  quite 
prepared  and  willing  to  pay,  as  soon  as  the  accounts  should 
be  examined,  and  the  charges  approved  of  by  professional 
engineers. 

The  delay  in  deciding  whether  the  Engine  was  the  pro- 
perty of  Government,  added  greatly  to  this  embarrassment. 
Mr.  Babbage,  therefore,  wrote  to  Lord  Ashley  on  the  8th  of 
February,  to  mention  these  diflSculties ;  and  to  point  out  the 
serious  inconvenience  which  would  arise,  in  the  future  progress 
of  the  Engine,  from  any  dispute  between  the  Engineer  and 
himself  relative  to  payments. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1830,  Mr.  Babbage  called  on 
Lord  Ashley,  to  request  he  would  represent  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  the  {acta  of  the  case,  and  point  out  to  his  Grace 


80  STATEMExNT. 

the  importance  of  a  decision.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  he  again  saw  Lord  Ashley,  who  communicated  to  him  the 
decision  of  the  Government ;  to  the  following  eflFect : — 

Is^.  Although  the  Government  wovld  not  pledge  themselves  to 
COMPLETE  the  Machiney  they  were  willing  to  declare  it  their 
property, 

2nd.  That  prof essional  Engineers  shovJd  he  appointed  to  ex- 
amine the  hUls. 

3rd,  That  the  Government  were  willing  to  advance  3,0007. 
more  than  the  sum  (6,0007.)  already  granted. 

4ih.  That,  when  the  Machine  was  completed,  the  Govern- 
ment would  he  willing  to  attend  to  any  claim  of  Mr.  Babhage  to 
remuneration,  either  hy  hringing  it  hefore  the  Treasury,  or  the 
House  of  Commons. 

Thus,  after  considerable  discussion,  the  doubts  arising 
from  the  indefiniteness  of  the  understanding  with  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  in  July,  1823,  were  at  length 
removed.  Mr.  Babbage*s  impression  of  the  original  arrange- 
ment entered  into  between  Lord  Goderich  and  himself  wa? 
thus  formally  adopted  in  the  first  three  propositions :  and  the 
Government  voluntarily  added  the  expression  of  their  disposi- 
tion to  attend  to  any  claim  of  his  for  remuneration  when  the 
Engine  shonld  be  completed. 

When  the  arrangements  consequent  upon  this  decision 
were  made,  the  work  of  the  Engine  was  resumed,  and  con- 
tinued to  advance. 

After  some  time,  the  increasing  amount  of  costly  drawings, 
and  of  parts  of  the  Engine  already  executed,  remaining 
exposed  to  destruction  from  fire  and  from  other  casualties 
became  a  source  of  some  anxiety. 

These  facts  having  been  represented  to  Lord  Althorp 
(tlien  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer),  an  experienced  surveyor 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  81 

was  directed  to  find  a  site  adapted  for  a  building  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  Engine  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mr.  Babbage's 
residence. 

On  the  19th  of  January  the  Surveyor's  reports  were  for- 
warded to  Lord  Althorp  (the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer), 
who  referred  the  case  to  a  committee  of  practical  Engineers 
for  their  opinion.  Tliis  committee  reported  strongly  in  favour 
of  the  removal,  on  the  grounds  of  security,  and  of  economy 
in  completing  the  Engine;  and  also  recommended  the  site 
which  had  been  previously  selected  by  the  Surveyor.  The 
Royal  Society,  also,  to  whom  Lord  Althorp  had  applied, 
examined  the  question,  and  likewise  reported  strongly  to  the 
same  effect 

A  lease  of  some  property,  adjacent  to  Mr.  Babbage's  re- 
sidence, was  therefore  subsequently  granted  by  him  to  the 
Government ;  and  a  fire-proof  building,  capable  of  containing 
the  Engine,  with  its  drawings,  and  workshops  necessary  for 
its  completion,  were  erected. 

With  respect  to  the  expenses  of  constructing  the  Engine) 
the  following  plan  was  agreed  upon  and  carried  out : — ^The 
great  bulk  of  the  work  was  executed  by  the  Engineer  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Babbage.  When  the  bills  were  sent  in, 
they  were  immediately  forwarded  by  him  to  two  eminent 
Engineers,  Messrs.  Donkin  and  Field,  who,  at  the  request  of 
Government,  had  undertaken  to  examine  their  accuracy. 
On  these  gentlemen  certifying  those  bills  to  be  correct, 
Mr.  Babbage  transmitted  them  to  the  Treasury ;  and  after  the 
usual  forms,  a  warrant  was  issued  directing  the  payment  of 
the  respective  sums  to  Mr.  Babbage.  This  course,  however, 
required  considerable  time ;  and  the  Engineer  having  repre- 
sented that  he  was  unable  to  pay  his  workmen  without  more 
immediate  advances,  Mr.  Babbage,  to  prevent  delay  in  com- 


82  STATEMENT. 

pleting  the  Engine,  did  himself,  from  time  to  time,  advance 
from  his  own  funds  several  sums  of  money ;  so  that  he  was, 
in  fact,  usually  in  advance  from  500t  to  IfiOOL  Those  sums 
were,  of  course,  repaid  when  the  Treasury  warrants  were 
issued. 

Early  in  the  year  1833,  an  event  of  great  importance  in 
the  history  of  the  Engine  occurred.  Mr.  Babbage  had 
dii-ected  a  portion  of  it,  consisting  of  sixteen  figures,  to  be  put 
together.  It  was  capable  of  calculating  Tables  having  two  or 
three  orders  of  difierences ;  and,  to  some  extent,  of  forming 
other  Tables.  The  action  of  this  portion  completely  justified 
the  expectations  raised,  and  gave  a  most  satisfactory  assurance 
of  its  final  success. 

The  fire-proof  building  and  workshops  having  been  com- 
pleted, arrangements  were  made  for  the  removal  of  the 
Engine.  Mr.  Babbage  finding  it  no  longer  convenient  to 
make  payments  in  advance,  informed  the  Engineer  that  he 
should  in  future  not  pay  him  until  the  money  was  received 
from  the  Treasury.  Upon  receiving  this  intimation,  the 
Engineer  immediately  discontinued  the  construction  of  the 
Engine,  and  dismissed  the  workmen  employed  on  it;  which  fact 
Mr.  Babbage  immediately  commimicated  to  the  Treasury. 

In  this  state  of  afiairs  it  appeared,  both  to  the  Treasury 
and  to  Mr.  Babbage,  that  it  would  be  better  to  complete  the 
removal  of  the  drawings,  and  all  the  parts  of  the  Engine  to 
the  fire-proof  building ;  and  then  make  such  arrangements  be- 
tween the  Treasury  and  the  Engineer,  respecting  the  future 
payments,  as  might  prevent  further  discussion  on  that  subject. 

After  much  delay  and  difficulty  the  whole  of  the  drawings, 
and  parts  of  the  Engine,  were  at  length  removed  to  the  fire- 
proof building  in  East-street,  Manchester-square.  Mr.  Bab- 
bage wrote,  on   the   IGth   of  July,   1834,  to  the  Treasury 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  83 

informing  their  Lordships  of  the  fact; — adding  that  no 
advance  had  been  made  in  its  construction  for  above  a  year 
and  a  quarter;  and  requestmg  further  instructions  on  the 
subject. 

Mr.  Babbage  received  a  letter  from  the  Treasury,  express- 
ing their  Lordships'  satisfaction  at  learning  that  the  drawings, 
and  parts  of  the  Calculating  Engine  were  removed  to  the 
fire-proof  building,  and  stating  that  as  soon  as  Mr.  Clement's 
Accounts  should  be  received  and  examined,  they  would 

•*  Take  into  consideration  what  further  proceedings  may  be  requisite  with 
a  view  to  its  completion." 

A  few  weeks  afterwards  Mr.  Babbage  received  a  letter 
from  the  Treasury,  conveying  their  Lordships'  authority  to 
proceed  with  the  construction  of  the  Engine. 

During  the  time  which  had  elapsed  since  the  Engineer 
liud  ceased  to  proceed  with  the  construction  of  the  Engine, 
Mr.  Babbage  had  been  deprived  of  the  use  of  his  own  draw- 
ings. Having,  in  the  meanwhile,  naturally  speculated  upon 
the  general  principles  on  which  machinery  for  calculation 
might  be  constructed,  a  principle  of  an  entirely  new  hind 
occurred  to  him,  the  power  of  which  over  the  most  com- 
plicated arithmetical  operations  seemed  nearly  unbounded. 
On  re-examining  his  drawings  when  returned  to  him  by  the 
Engineer,  the  new  principle  appeared  to  be  limited  only  by 
the  extent  of  the  mechanism  it  might  require.  The  invention 
of  simpler  mechanical  means  for  executing  the  elementary 
operations  of  the  Engine  now  derived  a  far  greater  import- 
ance than  it  had  hitherto  possessed ;  and  should  such  simpli- 
fications be  discovered,  it  seemed  difficult  to  anticipate,  or 
even  to  over-estimate,  the  vast  results  which  might  be 
attained.  In  the  Engine  for  calculating  by  difierences,  such 
simplifications  affected   only  about  a  hundred   and   twenty 

g2 


84  STATEMENT. 

similar  parts,  whilst  in  the  new  or  Analytical  Engine,  they 
would  aflFeet  a  great  many  thousand.  The  Difference  Engine 
might  be  constructed  with  more  or  less  advantage  by  em- 
ploying various  mechanical  modes  for  the  operation  of 
addition:  the  Analytical  Engine  could  not  exist  without 
inventing  for  it  a  method  of  mechanical  addition  possessed  of 
the  utmost  simplicity.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until  upwards  of 
twenty  different  mechanical  modes  for  performing  the  opera- 
tion of  addition  had  been  designed  and  drawn,  that  the 
necessary  degree  of  simplicity  required  for  the  Analytical 
Engine  was  ultimately  attained  Hence,  therefore,  the 
powerful  motive  for  simplification. 

These  new  views  acquired  additional  importance,  from 
their  bearings  upon  the  Engine  already  partly  executed  for 
the  Government.  For,  if  such  simplifications  should  be  dis- 
covered, it  might  happen  that  the  Analytical  Engine  would 
execute  more  rapidly  the  calculations  for  which  ihe  Difference 
Engine  was  intended ;  or,  that  the  Difference  Engine  would 
itself  be  superseded  by  a  far  simpler  mode  of  construction. 
Though  these  views  might,  perhaps,  at  that  period  have 
appeared  visionary,  both  have  subsequently  been  completely 
realized. 

To  withhold  those  new  views  from  the  Government,  and 
under  such  circumstances  to  have  allowed  the  construction  of 
the  Engine  to  be  resumed,  would  have  been  improper ;  yet 
the  state  of  uncertainty  in  which  those  views  were  then 
necessarily  involved  rendered  any  written  communication 
respecting  their  probable  bearing  on  the  Difierence  Engine  a 
matter  of  very  great  diflSculty.  It  appeared  to  Mr.  Babbage 
that  the  most  straightforward  course  was  to  ask  for  an  inter- 
view on  the  subject  with  the  Ileud  of  the  Government,  and  to 
communicate  to  liim  the  exact  state  of  th(?  case. 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  85 

Had  that  interview  taken  place,  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Treasury  might  have  ascertained  from  his  inquiries,  in  a 
manner  quite  impracticable  by  any  written  communications, 
the  degree  of  importance  which  Mr.  Babbage  attached  to  his 
new  inventions,  and  his  own  opinion  of  their  probable  effect, 
in  superseding  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  original,  or 
Difference,  Engine.  The  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  would 
then  have  been  in  a  position  to  decide,  either  on  the  imme- 
diate continuation  and  completion  of  the  original  design,  or 
on  its  temporary  suspension,  until  the  character  of  the  new 
views  should  be  more  fully  developed  by  further  dravrings  and 
examination. 

There  was  another,  although  a  far  less  material  point,  on 
which  also  it  was  desirable  to  obtain  the  opinion  of  the 
Grovemment:  the  serious  impediments  to  the  progress  of 
the  Engine,  arising  from  the  Engineer's  conduct,  as  well  as 
the  consequent  great  expense,  had  induced  Mr.  Babbage  to 
consider,  whether  it  might  not  be  possible  to  employ  some 
other  person  as  his  agent  for  constructing  it  His  mind  had 
gradually  become  convinced  of  the  practicability  of  that 
measure  ;  but  he  was  also  aware  that  however  advantageous 
it  might  prove  to  the  Government,  from  its  greater  economy, 
yet  that  it  would  add  greatly  to  his  own  personal  labour,  re- 
sponsibility, and  anxiety. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1834,  Mr.  Babbage  therefore 
requested  an  interview  with  Lord  Melbourne,  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  before  him  these  views.  Lord  Melbourne  acceded 
to  the  proposed  interview,  but  it  was  then  postponed ;  and 
soon  after,  the  Administration  of  which  his  Lordship  was 
the  Head  went  out  of  OflSce,  without  the  interview  having 
taken  place. 

For  the  same  purpose,  Mr.  Babbage  applied  in  December, 


86  STATEMENT. 

1834,  for  an  interview  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who,  in 
reply,  expressed  his  wish  to  receive  a  written  communication 
on  the  subject.  He  accordingly  addressed  a  statement  to  his 
Grace,  pointing  out  the  only  plans  which,  in  his  opinion,  could 
be  pursued  for  terminating  the  questions  relative  to  the 
Difference  Engine ;  namely, 

1st.  The  Government  might  desire  Mr.  Babbage  to  con- 
tinue the  construction  of  the  Engine,  in  the  hands  of  the  per- 
son who  has  hitherto  been  employed  in  making  it 

2ndly.  The  Government  might  >\ish  to  know  whether  any 
other  person  could  be  substituted  for  tiie  Engineer  at  present 
employed  to  continue  the  construction ; — a  course  which  was 
possible. 

3rdly.  The  Government  might  (although  he  did  not  pre- 
sume that  they  would)  substitute  some  person  to  superintend 
the  completion  of  the  Engine  instead  of  Mr.  Babbage  liim- 
self. 

4thly.  The  Government  might  be  disposed  to  give  up  the 
undertaking  entirely. 

He  also  stated  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  circum- 
stances which  had  led  him  to  the  invention  of  a  new  Engine, 
of  far  more  extensive  powers  of  calculation ;  wliich  he  then 
observed  did  not  supersede  the  former  one,  but  added  greatly 
to  its  utility. 

At  this  period,  the  impediments  relating  to  the  Difference 
Engine  had  been  partially  and  temporarily  removed.  The 
chief  difficulty  would  have  been  either  the  formation  of  new 
arrangements  with  the  Engineer,  or  the  appointment  of  some 
other  person  to  supply  his  place.  This  latter  alternative, 
wliich  was  of  great  imix)rtance  for  economy  as  well  as  for  its 
speedy  completion,  Mr.  Babbage  had  carefully  examined,  and 
was  then  prepared  to  point  out  means  for  its  accomplishment 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  1.  87 

The  duration  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  Administration 
was  short ;  and  no  decision  on  the  subject  of  the  Difference 
Engine  was  obtained. 

On  the  15th  of  May  the  Difference  Engine  was  alluded  to 
in  the  House  of  Commons ;  when  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer did  Mr.  Babbage  the  justice  to  state  distinctly,  that 
the  whole  of  the  money  voted  had  been  expended  in  paying 
the  workmen  and  for  the  materials  employed  in  constructing 
it,  and  that  not  one  shilling  of  it  had  ever  gone  into  his  own 
pocket 

About  this  time  several  communications  took  place  between 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  and  Mr.  Babbage,  respecting 
a  reference  to  the  Royal  Society  for  an  opinion  on  the  subject 
of  the  Engine. 

A  new  and  serious  impediment  to  the  possibility  of  execut- 
ing one  of  the  plans  which  had  been  suggested  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  for  completing  the  Difference  Engine  arose  from 
these  delays.  The  draftsman  whom  Mr.  Babbage  had,  at  his 
own  expense,  employed,  both  on  the  Difference  and  on  the 
Analytical  Engine,  received  an  oflFer  of  a  very  liberal  salary, 
if  he  would  enter  into  an  engagement  abroad,  which  would 
occupy  many  years.  His  assistance  was  indispensable,  and 
his  services  were  retained  only  by  Mr.  Babbage  considerably 
increasing  his  salary. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1836,  Mr.  Babbage  received  a 
communication  from  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr. 
Spring  Rice*),  expressing  his  desire  to  come  to  some  definite 
result  on  the  subject  of  the  Calculating  Engine,  in  which  he 
remarked,  that  the  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  Mr.  Bab- 
bage's  statement  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was,  that  he 
•  The  present  Lortl  Montcagle. 


98  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  2. 

My  much-valued  friend,  the  late  Sir  Benjamin  Hawes,  had 
also  been  consulted,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  draft  of  a 
letter  to  Lord  Derby,  who  was  then  prime  minister,  should 
be  prepared;  in  which  I  should  make  this  offer.  Lord 
Bosse  proposed  to  place  my  letter  in  Lord  Derby's  hands, 
with  his  own  statement  of  a  plan  by  which  the  whole  ques- 
tion might  be  determined 

Lord  Bosse's  suggestion  was,  that  the  Government  should 
apply  to  the  President  of  the  Listitution  of  Civil  Engineers 
to  ascertain, 

1st  Whether  it  was  possible,  from  the  drawings  and 
notations,  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  con- 
structing the  machine  ? 
2ndly.  In  case  this  question  was  answered  in  the  affir- 
mative—then, could  a  Mechanical  Engineer  be  found 
who  would  undertake  to    construct  it,  and  at  what 
expense? 
The  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  was  undoubtedly  the 
highest  authority  upon  the  first  question.     That  being  decided 
in  the  affirmative,  no  other  body  had  equal  power  to  find  out 
those  mechanical  engineers  who  might  be  willing  to  under- 
take the  contract. 

Supposing  both  these  questions,  or  even  the  latter  only, 
answered  in  the  negative,  the  proposition,  of  course,  fell  to 
the  ground.  But  if  they  were  both  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive, then  th«e  would  have  arisen  a  further  question  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Government:  namely.  Whether  the 
object  to  be  obtained  was  worthy  of  the  expenditure  ? 

The  final  result  of  this  eminently  pradieal  plan  was  com- 
municated to  the  Royal  Society  by  their  President,  in  his 
address  at  their  anniversary  on  the  30th  November,  1854. 
The  following  is  an  extract :— 


LORD  ROSSE'S  ADDRESS  TO  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY.       99 

"  The  progress  of  the  work  was  suspended :  there  was  a 
"  change  of  Government.  Science  was  weighed  against  gold 
^  by  a  new  standard,  and  it  was  resolved  to  proceed  no 
"  further.  No  enterprise  could  have  had  its  beginning  under 
**  more  auspicious  circumstances :  the  Gt)yemment  had  taken 
"  the  initiative — they  had  called  for  advice,  and  the  adviser 
"  was  the  highest  scientific  authority  in  this  country ; — your 
"  Council ;  guided  by  such  men  as  Davy,  Wollaston,  and 
"  Herschel.  By  your  Council  the  undertaking  was  inaugu- 
"  rated, — by  your  Council  it  was  watched  over  in  its  progress. 
"  That  the  first  great  eflbrt  to  employ  the  powers  of  calcu- 
**  lating  mechanism,  in  aid  of  the  human  intellect,  should 
"  have  been  suffered  in  this  great  country  to  expire  fruitless, 
"  because  there  was  no  tangible  evidence  of  immediate  profit, 
"  as  a  British  subject  I  deeply  regret,  and  as  a  Fellow  my 
"  regret  is  accompanied  with  feelings  of  bitter  disappoint- 
"  ment.  Where  a  question  has  once  been  disposed  of,  suc- 
"  ceeding  Govemments  rarely  reopen  it,  still  I  thought  I 
"  should  not  be  doing  my  duty  if  I  did  not  take  some  oppor- 
"  tunity  of  bringing  the  facts  once  more  before  Grovernment. 
'^  Circumstances  had  changed,  mechanical  engineering  had 
"  made  much  progress ;  the  tools  required  and  trained  work- 
**  men  were  to  be  found  in  the  workshops  of  the  leading 
^  mechanists,  the  founder's  art  was  so  advanced  that  casting 
"  had  been  substituted  for  cutting,  in  making  the  change 
**  wheels,  even  of  screw-cutting  engines,  and  therefore  it  was 
"  very  probable  that  persons  would  be  found  willing  to  under- 
"  take  to  complete  the  Difference  Engine  for  a  specific  sum. 

"  That  finished,  the  question  would  then  have  arisen,  how 
"  far  it  was  advisable  to  endeavour,  by  the  same  means,  to 
**  turn  to  account  the  great  labour  which  had  been  expended 
"  under  the  guidance  of  inventive  powers  the  most  original, 

h2 


100  MR.  BABBAGE'S  LETTER 

"  controlled  by  mathematios  of  a  very  high  order ;  and  which 
"  had  been  wholly  devoted  for  so  many  years  to  the  great 
'*  task  of  carrying  the  powers  of  calculating  machinery  to  its 
"  utmost  limits.  Before  I  took  any  step  I  wrote  to  several 
"  very  eminent  men  of  science,  inquiring  whether,  in  their 
"  opinion,  any  great  scientific  object  would  be  gained  if  Mr. 
'*  Babbage's  views,  as  explained  in  M^nabr^'s  little  essay, 
**  were  completely  realized.  The  answers  I  received  were 
"  strongly  in  the  affirmative.  As  it  was  necessary  the  subject 
''  should  be  laid  before  Government  in  a  form  as  practical 
''  as  possible,  I  wrote  to  one  of  our  most  eminent  mechanical 
"  engine^s  to  inquire  whether  I  should  be  safe  in  stating 
"  to  Grovemment  that  the  expense  of  the  Calculating  Engine 
"  had  been  more  than  repaid  in  the  improvements  in  me- 
"  chanism  directly  referable  to  it ;  he  replied, — unquestion- 
"  ably.  Fortified  by  these  opinions,  I  submitted  this  propo- 
"  sition  to  Grovemment : — ^that  they  should  call  upon  the 
**  President  of  the  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  to  report 
'*  whether  it  would  be  practicable  to  make  a  contract  for  the 
"  completion  of  Mr.  Babbage's  Difierence  Engine,  and  if  so, 
^  for  what  sum.  This  was  in  1852,  during  the  short  admi- 
^  nistration  of  Lord  Derby,  and  it  led  to  no  jesult  The 
^  time  was  unfortunate ;  a  great  political  contest  was  impend- 
**  ing,  and  before  there  was  a  lull  in  politics,  so  that  the 
"  voice  of  Science  could  be  heard.  Lord  Derby's  government 
<<  was  at  an  end." 

The  following  letter  was  then  drawn  up,  and  placed  in 
Lord  Derby's  hands  by  Lord  Bosse : — 

My  Lord,  June  8, 1852. 

I  TAKE  the  liberty  of  drawing  your  Lordship's  attention 
to  the  subject  of  the  construction  of  a  Difference  Engine,  for 


TO  THE  EARL  OP  DERBY.  101 

calculating  and  printing  Astronomical  and  Nautical  Tables, 
which  was  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Gbyemment  so 
far  back  as  the  year  1823,  and  upon  which  the  Government 
of  that  day  desired  the  opinion  of  the  Eoyal  Society. 

I  annex  a  copy  of  the  correspondence  which  took  place  at 
that  time,  and  which  your  Lordship  will  observe  was  laid 
before  Parliament. 

The  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society,  to  which  the  subject 
was  referred,  reported  generally  that  the  invention  was  one 
"  fully  adequate  to  the  attainment  of  the  objects  proposed  by 
''  the  inventor,  and  that  they  considered  Mr.  Babbage  as  highly 
"  deserving  of  public  encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
**  arduous  undertaking."— Bg?(>r<  of  Bayal  Socieiy,  Ist  May, 
1823.    Parliamentary  Paper,  370,  22»d  May,  1823. 

And  in  a  subsequent  and  more  detailed  Beport,  which 
I  annex  also,  they  state : — 

**  The  Committee  have  no  intention  of  entering  into  any 
**  consideration  of  the  abstract  mathematical  principle  on  which 
"  the  practicability  of  such  a  machine  as  Mr.  Babbage's  relies, 
"  nor  of  its  public  utility  when  completed.  They  consider 
'*  the  former  as  not  only  sufficiently  clear  in  itself,  but  as 
"  already  admitted  and  acted  on  by  the  Council  in  their  former 
"  proceedings.  The  latter  they  regard  as  obvious  to  every  one 
"  who  conwders  the  immense  advantage  of  accurate  numerical 
''  Tables  in  all  matters  of  calculation,  especially  in  those  which 
"  relate  to  Astronomy  and  Navigation,  and  the  great  variety 
"  and  extent  of  those  which  it  is  the  object  and  within  the 
"  compass  of  Mr.  Babbage's  Engine  to  calculate  and  print 
"  with  perfect  accuracy." — Report  of  Committee  of  Boyal 
Society,  12ih  Feb.,  1829. 

Upon  the  first  of  these  Reports,  the  Gbvemment  deter- 
mined to  construct  the  machine,  under  my  personal  super- 


102  MR.  BABBAQE'S  LETTER 

intendence  and  direction.  The  Engine  was  accordingly 
commenced  and  partially  completed.  Tables  of  figures  were 
calculated,  limited  in  extent  only  by  the  number  of  wheels 
put  together. 

Delays,  from  various  causes  arose  in  the  progress  of  the 
work,  and  great  expenses  were  incurred.  The  machine  was 
altogether  new  in  design  and  construction,  and  required  the 
utmost  mechanical  skill  which  could  be  obtained  for  its  exe- 
cution. "  It  involved,"  to  quote  again  from  the  Report  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Eoyal  Society,  "  the  necessity  of  construct- 
^*  ing,  and  in  many  instances  inventing,  tools  and  machinery 
^  of  great  expense  and  complexity  (and  in  many  instances  of 
"  ingenious  contrivances  likely  to  prove  useful  for  other  pur- 
**  poses  hereafter),  for  forming  with  the  requisite  precision 
**  parts  of  the  apparatus  dissimilar  to  any  used  in  ordinary 
**  mechanical  works ;  that  of  making  many  previous  trials  to 
**  ascertain  the  validity  of  proposed  movements ;  and  that  of 
"  altering,  improving,  and  simplifying  those  already  contrived 
"  and  reduced  to  drawings.  Your  Committee  are  so  far  from 
^  being  surprised  at  the  time  it  has  occupied  to  bring  it  to  its 
^^  present  state,  that  they  feel  more  disposed  to  wonder  it  has 
*^  been  possible  to  accomplish  so  much."  The  true  explanation 
both  of  the  slow  progress  and  of  the  cost  of  the  work  is 
clearly  stated  in  this  passage ;  and  I  may  remark  in  passing, 
that  the  tools  which  were  invented  for  the  construction  of  the 
machine  were  afterwards  found  of  utility,  and  that  this 
anticipation  of  the  Committee  has  been  realized,  as  some 
of  our  most  eminent  mechanical  engineers  will  readily 
testify. 

Similar  circumstances  will,  I  ai)prehend,  always  attend 
and  prolong  the  period  of  bringing  to  perfection  inventions 
which  have  no  parallel  in  the  previous  history  of  mechanical 


TO  THE  EARL  OF  DERBY.  103 

constrnction.  The  necessary  science  and  skill  specially  ac- 
quired in  executing  such  works  must  also,  as  experience  is 
gained,  suggest  deviations  from,  and  improvements  in,  the 
original  plan  of  those  works ;  and  the  adoption  or  rejection 
of  such  changes,  especially  under  circumstances  similar  to 
those  in  which  I  was  placed,  often  involves  questions  of  the 
greatest  diflSculty  and  anxiety. 

From  whatever  cause,  however,  the  delays  and  expenses 
arose,  the  result  was  that  the  Government  was  discouraged, 
and  declined  to  proceed  further  with  the  work. 

Mr.  Gt)ulbum's  letter,  intimating  this  decision  to  me,  in 
1842,  will  be  found  in  the  accompanying  printed  Statement. 
And  that  the  impediments  to  the  completion  of  the  engine, 
described  by  the  Eoyal  Society,  were  those  which  influenced 
the  Government  in  the  determination  they  came  to,  I  infer 
from  the  reason  assigned  by  Mr.  Goulbum  for  its  discontinu- 
ance, viz.,  "  the  expense  which  would  be  necessary  in  order  to 
"  render  it  either  satisfactory  to  yourself  or  generally  useful." 
I  readily  admit  that  the  work  could  not  have  been  rendered 
satisfactory  to  myself  unless  I  was  free  to  introduce  every 
improvement  which  experience  and  thought  could  suggest 
But  that  even  with  this  additional  source  of  expense  its 
general  usefulness  would  have  been  impaired,  I  cannot  assent 
to,  for  I  believe,  in  the  words  of  the  Report  I  haVe  already 
quoted,  the  "immense  advantage  of  accurate  Numerical 
"  Tables  in  all  matters  of  calculation,  especially  in  those  which 
"  relate  to  Astronomy  and  Navigation,  cannot,  within  any 
**  reasonable  limits,  be  over-estimated."  As  to  th6  expense 
actually  incurred  upon  the  first  Difierence  Engine,  that  of 
the  Government  was  about  17,000Z.  On  my  own  part,  and 
out  of  my  own  private  resources,  I  have  sacrificed  upon  this 
and  other  works  of  science  upwards  of  20,000/. 


104  MR.  BABBAGE'S  LETTER 

From  the  date  of  Mr.  Goulbum's  letter,  nothing  has  been 
done  towards  the  further  completion  of  the  Diflferenee 
Engine  by  the  Gbvemment  or  myself.  So  much  of  it  as 
was  completed  was  deposited  in  the  Museum  of  King's  Col- 
lege, where  it  now  remains. 

Three  consequences  have,  however,  resulted  from  my  sub- 
sequent labours,  to  which  I  attach  great  importance. 

First,  I  have  been  led  to  conceive  the  most  important 
elements  of  another  Engine  upon  a  new  principle  (the 
details  of  which  are  reduced  accurately  to  paper),  the  power 
of  which  over  the  most  complicated  analytical  operations 
appears  nearly  unlimited;  but  no  portion  of  which  is  yet 
commenced.  I  have  called  this  engine,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  other,  the  Analytical  Engine. 

Secondly,  I  have  invented  and  brought  to  maturity  a 
system  of  signs  for  the  explanation  of  machinery,  which  I 
have  called  Mechanical  Notation,  by  means  of  which  the 
drawings,  the  times  of  action,  and  the  trains  for  the  trans- 
mission of  force,  are  expressed  in  a  language  at  once  simple 
and  concise.  Without  the  aid  of  this  language  I  could  not 
have  invented  the  Analytical  Engine  ;  nor  do  I  believe  that 
any  machinery  of  equal  complexity  can  ever  be  contrived 
without  the  assistance  of  that  or  of  some  other  equivalent 
language.  The  Difference  Engine  No.  2,  to  which  I  shall 
presently  refer,  is  entirely  described  by  its  aid. 

Thirdly,  in  labouring  to  perfect  tliis  Analytical  Machine 
of  greater  power  and  \rider  range  of  computation,  I  have 
discovered  the  means  of  simplifying  and  expediting  the 
mechanical  processes  of  the  first  or  Difference  Engine. 

After  what  has  passed,  I  cannot  expect  the  Government  to 
undertake  the  construction  of  the  Analytical  Engine,  and  1 
do  not  offer  it  for  that  purpose.     It  is  not  so  matured  as  to 


TO  THE  EARL  OF  DERBY.  105 

enable  any  other  person,  without  long  previous  training  and 
application,  even  to  attempt  its  execution ;  and  on  my  own 
part,  to  superintend  its  construction  would  demand  an 
amount  of  labour,  anxiety,  and  time  which  could  not,  after 
the  treatment  I  have  received,  be  expected  from  me.  I 
therefore  make  no  such  oflFer. 

But  that  I  may  fulfil  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  the 
original  expectation  that  I  should  be  able  to  complete,  for 
the  Government,  an  Engine  capable  of  calculating  astro- 
nomical and  nautical  Tables  with  perfect  accuracy,  such  as 
that  which  is  described  in  the  Eeports  of  the  Royal  Society, 
I  am  willing  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  Government  (if  they 
will  undertake  to  execute  a  new  Difference  Engine)  all  those 
improvements  which  I  have  invented  and  have  applied  to 
the  Analytical  Engine.  These  comprise  a  complete  series 
of  drawings  and  explanatory  notations,  finished  in  1849,  of 
the  Difference  Engine  No.  2, — an  instrument  of  greater 
power  as  well  as  of  greater  simplicity  than  that  formerly 
commenced,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Government. 

I  have  sacrificed  time,  health,  and  fortune,  in  the  desire  to 
complete  these  Calculating  Engines.  I  have  also  declined 
several  offers  of  great  personal  advantage  to  myself.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  sacrifice  of  these  advantages  for  the 
purpose  of  maturing  an  engine  of  almost  intellectual  power, 
and  after  expending  from  my  own  private  fortune  a  larger 
sum  than  the  Gx)vemment  of  England  has  spent  on  that 
machine,  the  execution  of  which  it  only  commenced,  I  have 
received  neither  an  acknowledgment  of  my  labours,  nor  even 
the  offer  of  those  honours  or  rewards  which  are  allowed  to 
fall  within  the  reach  of  men  who  devote  themselves  to  purely 
scientific  investigations.  I  might,  perhaps,  advance  some 
claims  to  consideration,  founded  on  my  works  and  contribu- 


106  MR.  BABBAGE'S  LETTER 

tions  in  aid  of  various  departments  of  industrial  and  physical 
science, — ^but  it  is  for  others  to  estimate  those  services. 

I  now,  however,  simply  ask  your  Lordship  to  do  me  the 
honour  to  consider  this  statement  and  the  offer  I  make.  I 
prefer  no  claim  to  the  distinctions  or  the  advantages  which 
it  is  in  the  power  of  the  Crown  or  the  Government  to  bestow. 
I  desire  only  to  discharge  whatever  imagined  obligation  may 
be  supposed  to  rest  upon  me,  in  connexion  with  the  original 
undertaking  of  the  Difference  Engine ;  though  I  cannot  but 
feel  that  whilst  the  public  has  already  derived  advantage 
bom  my  labours,  I  have  myself  experienced  only  loss  and 
neglect. 

If  the  work  upon  which  I  have  bestowed  so  much  time 
and  thought  were  a  mere  triumph  over  mechanical  diffi- 
culties, or  simply  curious,  or  if  the  execution  of  such  engines 
were  of  doubtful  practicability  or  utility,  some  justification 
might  be  found  for  the  course  which  has  been  taken ;  but  I 
venture  to  assert  that  no  mathematician  who  has  a  reputation 
to  lose  will  ever  pvhlicly  express  an  opinion  that  such  a 
machine  would  be  useless  if  made,  and  that  no  man  dis- 
tinguished as  a  Civil  Engineer  will  venture  to  declare  the 
construction  of  such  machinery  impracticable.  The  names 
appended  to  the  Eeport  of  the  Committee  of  the  Royal 
Society  fiilly  justify  my  expressing  this  opinion,  which  I 
apprehend  will  not  be  disputed. 

And  at  a  period  whoji  the  progress  of  physical  science  is 
obstructed  by  that  exhausting  intellectual  and  manual  labour, 
indispensable  for  its  advancement,  which  it  is  the  object  of  the 
Analytical  Engine  to  relieve,  I  think  the  application  of  ma- 
chinery in  aid  of  the  most  complicated  and  abstruse  calcula- 
tions can  no  longer  be  deemed  unworthy  of  the  attention 
of  the  eountr}\     In  fac*t,  there  is  no  reason  why  mental  as 


TO  THE  EARL  OF  DERBY.         .'  107 

well  as  bodily  labour  should  not  be  economized  by  the  aid  of 
machinery. 

With  these  views  I  have  addressed  your  Lordship,  as  the 
head  of  the  Gbvemment ;  and  whatever  may  be  my  sense  of 
the  injustice  that  has  hitherto  been  done  me,  I  feel,  in  laying 
this  representation  before  your  Lordship,  and  in  making  the 
offer  I  now  make,  that  I  have  discharged  to  the  utmost 
limit  every  implied  obligation  I  originally  contracted  with  the 
country. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be, 
&c.,  &c.,  &e., 

Charles  Babbage. 
Dorset  Street,  Manchester  Sqtiare. 
June  8,  1852. 

As  this  question  was  one  of  finance  and  of  calculation,  the 
sagacious  Premier  adroitly  turned  it  over  to  his  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer — that  official  being,  from  his  oflSce,  supposed 
to  be  well  versed  in  both  subjects. 

The  opinion  pronounced  by  the  novelist  and  financier  was, 
"  That  Mr.  Babbage's  projects  appear  to  be  so  indefinitely 
''  expensive,  the  ultimate  success  so  problematical,  and  the 
"  expenditure  certainly  so  large  and  so  utterly  incapable  of 
"  being  calculated,  that  the  Government  would  not  be  justified 
"  in  taking  upon  itself  any  further  liability." — Extract  from 
{he  Reply  of  Earl  Derby  to  the  application  of  the  Earl  of  Basse, 
K.P.,  President  of  the  Boyal  Society. 

The  answer  of  Lord  Derby  to  Lord  Bosse  was  in  sub- 
stance— 

That  he  had  consulted  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer^ 
who  pronounced  Mr.  Babbage's  project  as — 


108  REFERRED  TO  THE  CHANCELLOR  OF  THE  EXCHEQUER. 

1.  "  Indefinitely  expensive." 

2.  ''  The  oltimate  success  problematicaL" 

3.  "  The  expenditure  utterly  incapable  of  being  calcu- 

lated." 

1.  With  regard  to  the  '*  indefinite  expense.**  Lord  Bosse 
had  proposed  to  refer  this  question  to  the  President  of  the 
Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  who  would  have  given  his 
opinion  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  drawings  and 
notations.  These  had  not  been  seen  by  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer ;  and,  if  seen  by  him,  would  not  have  been 
comprehended. 

The  objection  that  its  success  was  '*  problematical "  may 
refer  either  to  its  mechanical  construction  or  to  its  mathe- 
matical principles. 

Whoy  possessing  one  grain  of  common  sense,  could  look 
upon  the  unrivalled  workmanship  of  the  then  existing  portion 
of  the  Difference  Engine  No.  1,  and  doubt  whether  a  sim- 
plified form  of  the  same  engine  could  be  executed? 

As  to  any  doubt  of  its  mathematical  principles,  this  was 
excusable  in  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  who  was 
himself  too  practically  acquainted  with  the  fallibility  of 
his  own  figures,  over  which  the  severe  duties  of  his  office 
had  stultified  his  brilliant  imagination.  Far  other  figures 
are  dear  to  liim — those  of  speech,  in  which  it  cannot  be 
denied  he  is  indeed  pre-eminent. 

Any  junior  clerk  in  his  office  might,  however,  have  told 
him  that  the  power  of  computing  Tables  by  differences  merely 
required  a  knowledge  of  simple  addition. 

As  to  the  impossibility  of  ascertaining  the  expenditure, 
this  merges  iuto  the  first  objection ;  but  a  poetical  brain  must 
be  pardoned  when  it  repeats  or  amplifies.  I  will  recall  to  the 
ex-Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  what  Lord  Rosse  really  pro- 


HIS  OPINION  WORTHLESS.  109 

posed,  namely,  that  tlie  Government  should  take  the  opinion 
of  the  President  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  upon 
the  question,  whether  a  contract  could  be  made  for  construct- 
ing the  Difference  Engine,  and  if  so,  for  what  sum. 

But  the  very  plan  proposed  by  Lord  Rosse  and  refused  by 
Lord  Derby,  for  the  construction  of  the  English  Difference 
Engine,  was  adopted  some  few  years  after  by  another  ad- 
ministration for  the  Swedish  Difference  Engine.  Messrs. 
Donkin,  the  eminent  Engineers,  made  an  estimate,  and  a 
contract  was  in  consequence  executed  to  construct  for  Govern- 
ment a  fac-simile  of  the  Stvedish  Difference  Engine,  which 
is  now  in  use  in  the  department  of  the  Registrar-General, 
at  Somerset  House.  There  were  far  greater  mechanical  diffi- 
culties in  the  production  of  that  machine  than  in  the  one  the 
drawings  of  which  I  had  offered  to  the  Government. 

From  my  own  experience  of  the  cost  of  executing  such 
works,  I  have  no  doubt,  although  it  was  highly  creditable  to 
the  skill  of  the  able  firm  who  constructed  it,  but  that  it  must 
have  been  commercially  unprofitable.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, surely  it  was  harsh  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to 
refuse  Messrs.  Donkin  permission  to  exhibit  it  as  a  specimen 
of  English  workmanship  at  the  Exhibition  of  1862. 

But  the  machine  upon  which  everybody  could  calculate, 
had  little  chance  of  fair  play  from  the  man  on  whom  nobody 
could  calculate. 

If  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  had  read  my  letter  to 
Lord  Derby,  he  would  have  found  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Royal  Society  expressed  in  these  words  :— 

"  They  consider  the  former  [the  abstract  mathematical 
**  principle]  as  not  only  sufficiently  clear  in  itself,  but  as 
"  already  admitted  and  acted  on  by  the  Council  in  thoir 
"  former  proceedings. 


110  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE  No.  2. 

"  The  latter  [its  public  utility]  they  consider  as  obvious  to 
**  every  one  who  considers  the  immense  advantage  of  accurate 
^  numerical  tables  in  all  matters  of  calculation,  especially  in 
"  those  which  relate  to  astronomy  and  navigation." — Report 
of  the  Boyal  Society,  12th  Feb.,  1829. 

Thus  it  appears : — 

1st  That  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  presumed  to 
set  up  his  oum  idea  of  the  utility  of  the  Difference 
Engine  in  direct  opposition  to  that  of  the  Boyal 
Society. 

2nd.  That  he  refused  to  take  the  opinion  of  the  highest 
mechanical  authority  in  the  country  on  its  pro- 
bable cost,  and  even  to  be  informed  whether  a  con- 
tract for  its  construction  at  a  definite  sum  might 
not  be  attainable:  he  then  boldly  pronounced 
the  expense  to  be  "utterly  incapable  of  being 
"  calculated." 

This  much-abused  Difference  Engine  is,  however,  like  its 
prouder  relative  the  Analytical,  a  being  of  sensibility,  of 
impulse,  and  of  power. 

It  can  not  only  calculate  the  millions  the  ex-Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  squandered,  but  it  can  deal  with  the  smallest 
quantities ;  nay,  it  feels  even  for  zeros.*  It  is  as  conscious 
as  Lord  Derby  himself  is  of  the  presence  of  a  negaJtive  quan- 
iHy,  and  it  is  not  beyond  the  ken  of  either  of  them  to  foresee 
the  existence  of  impossible  one8.f 

Yet  should  any  unexpected  course  of  events  ever  raise  the 

♦  It  diacovera  the  roots  of  equations  by  feeling  whetbcr  all  the  figures  in 
a  certain  column  are  zercs, 

t  It  may  be  necessary  to  explain  to  the  unmathcniatical  reader  and 
to  the  ex-Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  that  imponibile  qttantities  in  algebra 
are  something  like  mare^th-nfsts  in  ordinary  life. 


FEELS  FOR  THE  CHANCELLOR  OF  THE  EXCHEQUER.    Ill 

ex-Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  to  his  former  dignity,  I  am 
sure  he  will  be  its  friend  as  soon  as  he  is  convinced  that  it 
can  be  made  useful  to  him. 

It  may  possibly  enable  him  to  un-muddle  even  his  own 
financial  accounts,  and  to 

But  as  I  have  no  wish  to  crucify  him,  I  will  leave  his 
name  in  obscurity. 

The  Herostratus  of  Science,  if  he  escape  oblivion,  will  be 
linked  with  the  destroyer  of  the  Ephesian  Temple. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


OF  TUE  ANALYTICAL  ENGINE. 


Man  wroDgB,  and  lime  avenges. 

Btbok.— 2%e  Profkeeif  o/DamU. 


Built  Workshops  for  constructing  the  Analytical  Engine — Difficulties  about 
oarrjing  the  Tens — Unexpectedly  solved — Application  of  the  Jacquard 
Principle — ^Treatment  of  Tables  —  Probable  Time  required  for  Arith- 
metical Opeiations — Conditions  it  must  fulfil — Unlimited  in  Number  of 
FigoreSy  or  in  extent  of  Analytical  Operations — The  Author  invited  to 
Turin  in  1840 — Meetings  for  Discussion — Plana,  Menabrea,  MacCulIagh, 
Mosotti— Difficulty  proposed  by  the  latter—Observations  on  the  Errata 
of  Astronomical  Tables — Suggestions  for  a  Beform  of  Analytical  Signs. 

The  circular  arrangement  of  the  axes  of  the  Difference 
Engine  round  large  central  wheels  led  to  the  most  extended 
prospects.  The  whole  of  arithmetic  now  appeared  within 
the  grasp  of  mechanism.  A  vague  glimpse  even  of  an 
Analytical  Engine  at  length  opened  out,  and  I  pursued  with 
enthusiasm  the  shadowy  vision.  The  drawings  and  the  expe- 
riments were  of  the  most  costly  kind.  Draftsmen  of  the 
highest  order  were  necessary  to  economize  the  labour  of  my 
own  head ;  whilst  skilled  workmen  were  required  to  execute 
the  experimental  machinery  to  which  I  was  obliged  con- 
stantly to  have  recourse. 

In  order  to  carry  out  my  pursuits  successfully,  I  had  pur- 
chased a  house  with  above  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground  in  a 


THE  MECHANICAL  NOTATION.  118 

very  quiet  locality.  My  coach-house  was  now  converted  into  a 
forge  and  a  foundry,  whilst  my  stables  were  transformed  into 
a  workshop.  I  built  other  extensive  workshops  myself,  and 
had  a  fire-proof  building  for  my  drawings  and  draftsmen. 
Having  myself  worked  with  a  variety  of  tools,  and  having 
studied  the  art  of  constructing  each  of  them,  I  at  length  laid 
it  down  as  a  principle — ^that,  except  in  rare  cases,  I  would 
never  do  anything  myself  if  I  could  afibrd  to  hire  another 
person  who  could  do  it  for  me. 

The  complicated  relations  which  then  arose  amongst  the 
various  parts  of  the  machinery  would  have  baffled  the  most 
tenacious  memory.  I  overcame  that  difficulty  by  improving 
and  extending  a  language  of  signs,  the  Mechanical  Notation, 
which  in  1826  I  had  explained  in  a  paper  printed  in  the 
"Phil.  Trans."  By  such  means  I  succeeded  in  mastering 
trains  of  investigation  so  vast  in  extent  that  no  length  of 
years  ever  allotted  to  one  individual  could  otherwise  have 
enabled  me  to  control.  By  the  aid  of  the  Mechanical  Nota- 
tion, the  Analytical  Engine  became  a  reality :  for  it  became 
susceptible  of  demonstration. 

Such  works  could  not  be  carried  on  without  great 
expenditure.  The  fluctuations  in  the  demand  and  supply 
of  skilled  labour  were  considerable.  The  railroad  mania 
withdrew  from  other  pursuits  the  most  intellectual  and 
skilful  draftsmen.  One  who  had  for  some  years  been  my 
chief  assistant  was  tempted  by  an  offer  so  advantageous  that 
in  justice  to  his  own  family  he  could  scarcely  have  declined 
it.  Under  these  circumstances  I  took  into  consideration  the 
plan  of  advancing  his  salary  to  one  guinea  per  day.  Whilst 
this  was  in  abeyance,  I  consulted  my  venerable  surviving 
parent.  When  I  had  fully  explained  the  circumstances,  my 
excellent  mother  replied :  "  My  dear  son,  you  have  advanced 

I 


114  CARRYING  THE  TENS 

£Eir  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  object,  which  id  worthy 
of  your  ambition*  You  are  capable  of  completing  it.  My 
advice  is — ^pursue  it,  even  if  it  should  oblige  you  to  live  on 
bread  and  cheese." 

This  advice  entirely  accorded  with  my  own  feelings.  I 
therefore  retained  my  chief  assistant  at  his  advanced  salary. 

The  most  important  part  of  the  Analytical  Engine  was 
undoubtedly  the  mechanical  method  of  carrying  the  tens. 
On  this  I  laboured  incessantly,  each  succeeding  improvement 
advancing  me  a  step  or  two.  The  difficulty  did  not  consist 
80  much  in  the  more  or  less  complexity  of  the  contrivance 
as  in  the  reduction  of  the  time  required  to  effect  the  carriage. 
Twenty  or  thirty  different  plans  and  modifications  had  been 
drawn.  At  last  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  ex- 
hausted the  principle  of  successive  carriage.  I  concluded 
also  that  nothing  but  teaching  the  Engine  to  foresee  and  then 
to  act  upon  that  foresight  could  ever  lead  me  to  the  object  I 
desired,  namely,  to  make  the  whole  of  any  unlimited  number 
of  carriages  in  one  unit  of  tima  One  morning,  after  I  had 
spent  many  hours  in  the  dravring-offioe  in  endeavouring  to 
improve  the  system  of  successive  carriages,  I  mentioned  these 
views  to  my  chief  assistant,  and  added  that  I  should  retire  to 
my  library,  and  endeavour  to  work  out  the  new  principle.  He 
gently  expressed  a  doubt  whether  the  plan  was  passibley  to 
which  I  replied  that,  not  being  able  to  prove  its  impos- 
sihility,  I  should  follow  out  a  sli^t  glimmering  of  light 
which  I  thought  I  perceived. 

After  about  three  hours'  examination,  I  returned  to  the 
drawing-office  with  much  more  definite  ideas  upon  the  sub- 
ject £  had  discovered  a  principle  that  proved  the  possibility, 
and  I  had  contrived  mechanism  which,  I  thought,  would 
aooomplish  my  object 


BY  ANTICIPATION.  116 

I  now  commenced  the  explanation  of  mj  views,  which  I 
soon  fomid  were  but  little  miderstood  by  my  assistant ;  nor 
was  this  surprising,  since  in  the  course  of  my  own  attempt  at 
explanation,  I  found  several  defects  in  my  plan,  and  was  also 
led  by  his  questions  to  perceive  others.  All  these  I  removed 
one  after  another,  and  ultimately  terminated  at  a  late  hour 
my  morning's  work  with  the  conviction  that  anticipating 
carriage  was  not  only  within  my  power,  but  that  I  had  devised 
one  mechanism  at  least  by  which  it  might  be  accomplished. 

Many  years  after,  my  assistant,  on  his  return  from  a  long 
residence  abroad,  called  upon  me,  and  we  talked  over  the 
progress  of  the  Analytical  Engine.  I  referred  back  to  the 
day  on  which  I  had  made  that  most  impcHrtant  step,  and 
asked  him  if  he  recollected  it  His  reply  was  that  he 
perfectly  remembered  the  circumstance  ;  for  that  on  retiring 
to  my  library,  he  seriously  thought  that  my  intellect  was 
beginning  to  become  deranged.  The  reader  may  perhaps 
be  curious  to  know  how  I  spent  the  rest  of  that  remark- 
able day. 

After  working,  as  I  constantly  did,  for  ten  or  eleven  hours 
a  day,  I  had  arrived  at  this  satis£Etctory  conclusion,  and  was 
revising  the  rough  sketches  of  the  new  contrivance,  when 
my  servant  entered  the  drawing-office,  and  announced  that 
it  was  seven  o'clock — ^that  I  dined  in  Park  Lane — and  that  it 
was  time  to  dress.  I  usually  arrived  at  the  house  of  my 
friend  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the  appointed  time, 
in  order  that  we  might  have  a  short  conversation  on  subjects 
on  which  we  were  both  much  interested.  Having  mentioned 
my  recent  success,  in  which  my  host  thoroughly  sympathized, 
I  remarked  that  it  had  produced  an  exhilaration  of  the  spirits 
which  not  even  his  excellent  champagne  could  rivaL  Having 
enjoyed  the  society  of  Hallam,  <^  Bogers,  aad  of  some  few 

.12 


116  JACXJUARD  LOOM. 

others  of  that  delightful  drcle,  I  retired,  and  joined  one  or 
perhaps  two  much  more  extensive  reunions.  Having  thus 
forgotten  science,  and  enjoyed  society  for  four  or  five  hours, 
I  returned  home.  About  one  o'clock  I  was  asleep  in  my 
bed,  and  thus  continued  for  the  next  five  hours. 

This  new  and  rapid  system  of  carrying  the  tens  when  two 
numbers  are  added  together,  reduced  the  actual  time  of  the 
addition  of  any  number  of  digits,  however  large,  to  nine  units 
of  tifne  for  the  addition,  and  one  unit  for  the  carriage.  Thus 
in  ten's  units  of  time,  any  two  numbers,  however  large, 
might  be  added  together.  A  few  more  units  of  time,  perhaps 
five  or  six,  were  required  for  making  the  requisite  previous 
airangements. 

Having  thus  advanced  as  nearly  as  seemed  possible  to  the 
minifnnm  of  time  requisite  for  arithmetical  operations,  I  felt 
renewed  power  and  increased  energy  to  pursue  the  &i  higher 
object  I  had  in  view. 

To  describe  the  successive  improvements  of  the  Analytical 
Engine  would  require  many  volumes.  I  only  propose  here 
to  indicate  a  few  of  its  more  important  functions,  and  to  give 
to  those  whose  minds  are  duly  prepared  for  it  some  informa- 
tion which  will  remove  those  vague  notions  of  wonder,  and 
even  of  its  impossibilty,  with  which  it  is  surrounded  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  most  enlightened. 

To  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  the 
Jacquard  loom,  and  who  are  also  fiEuniliar  with  analytical 
formulsd,  a  general  idea  of  the  means  by  which  the  Engine 
executes  its  operations  may  be  obtained  without  much  diffi- 
culty. In  the  Exhibition  of  1862  there  were  many  splendid 
examples  of  such  looms. 

It  is  known  as  a  teust  that  the  Jacquard  loom  is  capable  of 


WEAVING  FORMULA.  117 

weaving  anj  design  which  the  imagination  of  man  may 
conceiye.  It  is  also  the  constant  practice  for  skilled  artists  to 
be  employed  by  manufacturers  in  designing  patterns.  These 
patterns  are  then  sent  to  a  peculiar  artist,  who,  by  means 
of  a  certain  machine,  punches  holes  in  a  set  of  pasteboard 
cards  in  such  a  manner  that  when  those  cards  are  placed  in 
a  Jacquard  loom,  it  will  then  weave  upon  its  produce  the 
exact  pattern  designed  by  the  artist 

Now  the  manu£Etcturer  may  use,  for  the  warp  and  weft  of 
his  work,  threads  which  are  all  of  the  sajpe  colour ;  let  us 
suppose  them  to  be  unbleached  or  white  threads.  In  this 
case  the  cloth  will  be  woven  all  of  one  colour ;  but  there 
will  be  a  damask  pattern  upon  it  such  as  the  artist  designed. 

But  the  manu&cturer  might  use  the  same  cards,  and  put 
into  the  warp  threads  of  any  other  colour.  Every  thread 
might  even  be  of  a  different  colour,  or  of  a  different  shade  of 
colour;  but  in  all  these  cases  ihefarm  of  the  pattern  will 
be  precisely  the  same — the  colours  only  will  differ. 

The  analogy  of  the  Analytical  Engine  with  this  well-known 
process  is  nearly  perfect 

The  Analytical  Engine  consists  of  two  parts : — 

1st.  The  store  in  which  all  the  variables  to  be  operated 
upon,  as  well  as  all  those  quantities  which  have  arisen  fix)m 
the  result  of  other  operations,  are  placed. 

2nd.  The  mill  into  which  the  quantities  about  to  be  ope- 
rated upon  are  always  brought 

Every  formula  which  the  Analytical  Engine  can  be  required 
to  compute  condsto  of  certain  algebraical  operations  to  be  per- 
formed upon  given  letters,  and  of  certain  other  modifica- 
tions depending  on  the  numerical  value  assigned  to  those 
letters. 

There  are  therefore  two  sets  of  cards,  the  first  to  direct  the 


118  LAW  OF  DEVELOPMENT. 

nature  of  the  opeiations  to  be  perfonned — ^these  are  called 
operation  cards :  the  other  to  direct  the  particular  variables 
on  which  those  cards  are  required  to  operate — these  latter 
are  called  variable  cards.  Now  the  symbol  of  each  variable 
or  constant,  is  placed  at  the  top  of  a  column  capable  of  con- 
taining any  required  number  of  digits. 

Under  this  arrangement,  when  any  formula  is  required  to 
be  computed,  a  set  of  operation  cards  must  be  strung  together, 
which  contain  the  series  of  operations  in  the  order  in  which 
they  occur.  Another  set  of  cards  must  then  be  strung 
together,  to  call  in  the  variables  into  the  mill,  the  order  in 
which  they  are  required  to  be  acted  upon.  Each  operation 
card  will  require  three  other  cards,  two  to  represent  the  vari- 
ables and  constants  and  their  numerical  values  upon  which 
the  previous  operation  card  is  to  act,  and  one  to  indicate  the 
variable  on  which  the  arithmetical  result  of  this  operation  is 
to  be  placed. 

But  each  variable  has  below  it,  on  the  same  axis,  a  certain 
number  of  figure-wheels  marked  on  their  edges  with  the  ten 
digits:  upon  these  any  number  the  machine  is  capable  of 
holding  can  be  placed.  Whenever  variables  are  ordered  into 
the  mill,  these  figures  will  be  brought  in,  and  the  operation 
indicated  by  the  preceding  card  will  be  performed  upon  them. 
The  result  of  this  operation  will  then  be  replaced  in  the  store. 

The  Analytical  Engine  is  therefore  a  machine  of  the  most 
general  nature.  Whatever  formula  it  is  required  to  develop, 
the  law  of  its  development  must  be  communicated  to  it  by 
two  sets  of  cards.  When  these  have  been  placed,  the  engine 
is  special  for  that  particular  formula.  The  numerical  value 
of  its  constants  must  then  be  put  on  the  columns  of  wheels 
below  them,  and  on  setting  the  Engine  in  motion  it  will  calcu- 
late and  print  the  numerical  results  of  that  formula. 


ITS  USB  OF  TABLES.  119 

Every  set  of  cards  made  for  any  formula  will  at  any  future 
time  recalculate  that  formula  with  whatever  constants  may 
be  required. 

Thus  the  Analytical  Engine  will  possess  a  library  of  its 
own«  Every  set  of  cards  once  made  will  at  any  future  time 
reproduce  the  calculations  for  which  it  was  first  arranged. 
The  numerical  value  of  its  constants  may  then  be  inserted. 

It  is  perhaps  difficult  to  apprehend  these  descriptions  with- 
out a  familiarity  both  with  analytical  forms  and  mechanical 
structures.  I  will  now,  therefore,  confine  myself  to  the 
mathematical  view  of  the  Analytical  Engine,  and  illustrate  by 
example  some  of  its  supposed  difficulties. 

An  excellent  friend  of  mine,  the  late  Professor  MacCullagh, 
of  Dublin,  was  discussing  with  me,  at  breakfast,  the  various 
powers  of  the  Analytical  Engine.  After  a  long  conversation 
on  the  subject,  he  inquired  what  the  machine  could  do  if,  in 
the  midst  of  algebraic  operations,  it  was  required  to  perform 
logarithmic  or  trigonometric  operations. 

My  answer  was,  that  whenever  the  Analytical  Engine 
should  exist,  all  the  developments  of  formula  would  be 
directed  by  this  condition — that  the  machine  should  be  able 
to  compute  their  numerical  value  in  the  shortest  possible 
time.  I  then  added  that  if  this  answer  were  not  satisSstctory. 
I  had  provided  means  by  which,  with  equal  accuracy,  it  might 
compute  by  logarithmic  or  other  Table& 

I  explained  that  the  Tables  to  be  used  must,  of  course,  be 
computed  and  punched  on  cards  by  the  machine,  in  which 
case  they  would  undoubtedly  be  correct  I  then  added  that 
when  the  machine  wanted  a  tabular  number,  say  the  logarithm 
of  a  given  number,  that  it  would  ring  a  bell  and  then  stop  itself. 
On  this,  the  attendant  would  look  at  a  certain  part  of  the 
machine,  and  find  that  it  wanted  the  logarithm  of  a  given 


120  DISCOVERS  A  MISTAKE. 

number,  say  of  2803.  The  attendant  would  then  go  to  the 
drawer  containing  the  pasteboard  cards  representing  its  table 
of  logarithms.  From  amongst  these  he  would  take  the 
required  logarithmic  card,  and  place  it  in  the  machine. 
Upon  this  the  engine  would  first  ascertain  whether  the 
assistant  had  or  had  not  given  him  the  correct  logarithm  of 
the  number ;  if  so,  it  would  use  it  and  continue  its  work. 
But  if  the  engine  found  the  attendant  had  given  him  a  wrong 
logarithm,  it  would  then  ring  a  louder  bell,  and  stop  itself. 
On  the  attendant  again  examining  the  engine,  he  would 
observe  the  words,  "Wrong  tabular  number,"  and  then 
discover  that  he  really  had  given  the  wrong  logarithm,  and  of 
course  he  would  have  to  replace  it  by  the  right  ona 

Upon  thi%  Professor  MacCullagli  naturally  asked  why,  if 
the  machine  could  tell  whether  the  logarithm  was  the  right 
one,  it  should  have  asked  the  attendant  at  all?  I  told 
him  that  the  means  employed  were  so  ridiculously  simple 
that  I  would  not  at  that  moment  explain  them ;  but  that  if 
he  would  come  again  in  the  course  of  a  few  days^  I  should  be 
ready  to  explain  it  Three  or  four  days  after,  Bessel  and 
Jacobi,  who  had  just  arrived  in  England,  were  sitting  with 
zne,  inquiring  about  the  Analytical  Engine,  when  fortunately 
my  friend  MacCuUagh  was  announced.  The  meeting  was 
equally  agreeable  to  us  all,  and  we  continued  our  conversa- 
tion. After  some  time  Bessel  put  to  me  the  very  same 
question  which  MacCullagh  had  previously  asked.  On  this 
Jacobi  remarked  that  he,  too,  was  about  to  make  the  same 
inquiry  when  Bessel  had  asked  the  question.  I  then 
explained  to  them  the  following  very  simple  means  by  which 
that  verification  was  accomplished. 

Besides  the  sets  of  cards  which  direct  the  nature  of  the 
operations  to  be  performed,  and  the  variables  or  constants 


KNOWS  WHAT  IT  WANTS.  121 

which  are  to  be  operated  upon,  there  is  another  class  of  cards 
called  nnmber  cards.  These  are  much  less  general  in  their 
uses  than  the  others,  although  they  are  necessarily  of  much 
larger  size. 

Any  number  which  the  Analytical  Engine  is  capable  of 
using  or  of  producing  can,  if  required,  be  expressed  by  a  card 
with  certain  holes  in  it ;  thus — 


Number. 

2 

3 

0 

3 

3 

6 

2 

2 

9 

3 

9 

• 

• 

o 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

o 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

O 

• 

o 

• 

• 

o 

o 

• 

O 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

& 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

The  above  card  contains  eleven  vertical  rows  for  holes, 
each  row  having  nine  or  any  less  number  of  holes.  In  this 
example  the  tabular  number  is862293  9,  whilst  its  num- 
ber in  the  order  of  the  table  is  2  3  0  3.  In  fact,  the  former 
number  is  the  logarithm  of  the  latter. 

The  Analytical  Engine  will  contain, 

Ist  Apparatus  for  printing  on  paper,  one,  or,  if  required, 
two  copies  of  its  results. 

2nd.  Means  for  producing  a  stereotype  mould  of  the  tables 
or  results  it  computes. 

3rd.  Mechanism  for  punching  on  blank  pasteboard  cards  or 
metal  plates  the  numerical  results  of  any  of  its  com- 
putations. 

Of  course  the  Engine  will  compute  all  the  Tables  which 


122  STOPS  AND  RINGS  A  BELL. 

it  may  itself  be  required  to  use.  These  cards  will  therefore 
be  entirely  free  from  error.  Now  when  the  Engine  requires 
a  tabular  number,  it  will  stop,  ring  a  bell,  and  ask  for  such 
number.  In  the  case  we  have  assumed,  it  asks  for  the  loga- 
rithm of  2  3  0  3. 

When  the  attendant  has  placed  a  tabular  card  in  the 
Engine,  the  first  step  taken  by  it  will  be  to  verify  the  number 
of  the  card  given  it  by  subtracting  its  number  from  2  3  0  3, 
the  number  whose  logarithm  it  asked  for.  If  the  remainder 
is  zero,  then  the  engine  is  certain  that  the  logarithm  must  be 
the  right  one,  since  it  was  computed  and  punched  by  it8el£ 

Thus  the  Analytical  Engine  first  computes  and  punches  on 
cards  its  own  tabular  numbers.  These  are  brought  to  it  by 
its  attendant  when  demanded.  But  the  engine  itself  takes 
care  that  the  rifflU  card  is  brought  to  it  by  verifying  the 
ntmber  of  that  card  by  the  number  of  the  card  which  it 
demanded.  The  Engine  will  always  reject  a  wrong  card  by 
continually  ringing  a  loud  bell  and  stopping  itself  until  sup- 
plied with  the  precise  intellectual  food  it  demands. 

It  will  be  an  interesting  question,  which  time  only  can  solve, 
to  know  whether  such  tables  of  cards  will  ever  be  required 
for  the  Engine.  Tables  are  used  for  saving  the  time  of  con- 
tinually computing  individual  numbers.  But  the  computa- 
tions to  be  made  by  the  Engine  are  so  rapid  that  it  seems 
most  probable  that  it  will  make  shorter  work  by  computing 
directly  from  proper  formulae  than  by  having  recourse  even  to 
its  own  Tables. 

The  Analytical  Engine  I  propose  will  have  the  power  of 
expressing  every  number  it  uses  to  fifty  places  of  figures.  It 
will  multiply  any  two  such  numbers  together,  and  then,  if 
required,  will  divide  the  product  of  one  hundred  figures  by 
number  of  fifty  places  of  figures. 


ARITHMETICAL  DIFFICULTIES.  128 

Supposing  the  velocity  of  the  moving  parts  of  the  Engine 
to  be  not  greater  than  forty  feet  per  minute,  I  have  no  doubt 
that 

Sixty  additions  or  subtractions  may  be  completed  and 

printed  in  one  minute. 
One  multiplication  of  two  numbers,  each  of  fifty  figures, 

in  one  minute. 
One  division  of  a  number  having  100  places  of  figures 
by  another  of  50  in  one  minute. 
In  the  various  sets  of  drawings  of  the  modifications  of  the 
mechanical  structure  of  the  Analytical  Engines,  already  num- 
bering upwards  of  thirty,  two  great  principles  were  embodied 
to  an  unlimited  extent 

Ist  The  entire  control  over  arUhmetieal  operations,  how- 
ever large,  and  whatever  might  be  the  number  of  their  digits. 
2nd.  The  entire  control  over  the  cimM/Mjdiom  of  algebraic 
symbols,  however  lengthened  those  processes  may  be  re- 
quired. The  possibility  of  fulfilling  these  two  conditions 
might  reasonably  be  doubted  by  the  most  accomplished  ma- 
thematician as  well  as  by  the  most  ingenious  mechanician. 

The  difficulties  which  naturally  occur  to  those  capable  of 
examining  the  question,  as  £eu-  as  they  relate  to  arithmetic, 
are  these, — 

(a).  The  number  of  digits  in  eoeA  constant  inserted  in  the 

Engine  must  be  without  limit 
(Jb).  The  number  of  constants  to  be  inserted  in  the  Engine 

must  also  be  without  limit 
(c).  The  number  of  operations  necessary  for  arithmetic  is 
only  four,  but  these  four  may  be  repeated  an  im- 
limUed  number  of  times. 
{d).  These  operations  may  occur  in  any  order,  or  follow  an 
unlimited  number  of  lawa 


126  OF  PUNCHIKG  CARDa 

condition  (a),  or  the  unlimited  number  of  digits  contained  in 
each  constant  employed,  is  fulfilled. 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  this  adyantage  is  gained 
at  the  expense  of  diminishing  the  number  of  the  constants 
the  Engine  can  hold.  An  engine  of  fifty  digits,  when  used  as 
one  of  a  hundred  digits,  can  only  contain  half  the  number  of 
variables.  An  engine  containing  m  columns,  each  holding  n 
digits,  if  used  for  computations  requiring  Jen  digits,  can  only 

hold  T  constants  or  variables. 
k 

(b).  The  next  step  is  therefore  to  prove  (5),  viz. :  to  show 
that  a  finite  engine  can  be  used  as  if  it  contained  an  unlimited 
number  of  constants.  The  method  of  punching  cards  for 
tabular  numbers  has  already  been  alluded  to.  Each  Ana- 
lytical Engine  will  contain  one  or  more  apparatus  for  printing 
any  numbers  put  into  it,  and  also  an  apparatus  for  punching 
on  pasteboard  cards  the  holes  corresponding  to  those  num- 
bers. At  another  part  of  the  machine  a  series  of  number 
cards,  resembling  those  of  Jacquard,  but  delivered  to  and 
computed  by  the  machine  itself,  can  be  placed.  These  can 
be  called  for  by  the  Engine  itself  in  any  order  in  wliich 
they  may  be  placed,  or  according  to  any  law  the  Engine  may 
be  directed  to  use.  Hence  the  condition  (b)  is  fulfilled, 
namely :  an  unlimited  number  of  constants  can  be  inserted  in 
the  machine  in  an  unlimited  tima 

I  propose  in  the  Engine  I  am  constructing  to  have  places 
for  only  a  thousand  constants,  because  I  think  it  will  be  more 
than  sufficient.  But  if  it  were  required  to  have  ten,  or  even 
a  hundred  times  that  number,  it  would  be  quite  possible  to 
make  it,  such  is  the  simplicity  of  its  structure  of  that  portion 
of  the  Engine. 

(o).  llio  next  stage  in  the  arithmetic  is  the  number  of  times 


A  THOUSAND  VARIABLES.  127 

the  four  processes  of  addition,  sabtraction,  multiplication,  and 
division  can  be  repeated.  It  is  obvious  that  four  different 
cards  thus  punched 

+  -  X  4- 


OOO  GOO  OGQ  GOG 


would  give  the  orders  for  the  four  rules  of  arithmetic 

Now  there  is  no  limit  to  the  number  of  such  cards  which 
may  be  strung  together  according  to  the  nature  of  the  ope- 
rations required.     Consequently  the  condition  (c)  is  fulfilled. 

(d).  The  fourth  arithmetical  condition  (d),  that  the  order  of 
succession  in  which  these  operations  can  be  varied,  is  itself 
wfUimUed,  follows  as  a  matter  of  coiu^. 

The  four  remaining  conditions  which  must  be  fulfilled,  in 
order  to  render  the  Analytical  Engine  as  general  as  the 
science  of  which  it  is  the  powerful  executive,  relate  to  alge- 
braic quantities  with  which  it  operates. 

The  thousand  columns,  each  capable  of  holding  any  number 
of  less  than  fifty-one  places  of  figures,  may  each  represent  a 
constant  or  a  variable  quantity.  These  quantities  I  have 
called  by  the  comprehensive  title  of  variables,  and  have 
denoted  them  by  Vn,  with  an  index  below.  In  the  ma- 
chine I  have  designed,  n  may  vary  from  0  to  999.  But 
after  any  one  or  more  columns  have  been  used  for  variables, 
if  those  variables  are  not  required  afterwards,  they  may  be 
printed  upon  paper,  and  the  columns  themselves  again  used 
for  other  variables.  In  such  cases  the  variables  must  have  a 
new  index ;  thus,  "*V*.  I  propose  to  make  n  vary  from  0  to 
99.  If  more  variables  are  required,  these  may  be  supplied  by 
Variable  Cards,  which  may  follow  each  other  in  unlimited 
succession.  Each  card  will  cause  its  symbol  to  be  printed 
with  its  proper  indices. 


128  A  FINITE  MACHINE  MAY 

For  the  sake  of  uniformity,  I  have  used  V  with  as  many 
indices  as  may  be  required  throughout  the  Engine.  This, 
however,  does  not  prevent  the  printed  result  of  a  develop- 
ment fjx)m  being  represented  by  any  letters  which  may  be 
thought  to  be  more  convenient  In  that  part  in  which  the 
results  are  printed,  type  of  any  form  may  be  used,  according 
to  the  taste  of  the  proposer  of  the  question. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  two  conditions,  {e)  and  (/),  which 
require  that  the  number  of  constants  and  of  variables  should 
be  unlimited,  are  both  fulfilled. 

The  condition  (g)  requiring  that  the  number  of  combina- 
tions of  the  four  algebraic  signs  shall  be  unlimited,  is  easily 
fulfilled  by  placing  them  on  cards  in  any  order  of  succession 
the  problem  may  require. 

The  last  condition  (A),  namely,  that  the  number  of  func- 
tions to  be  employed  must  be  without  limit,  might  seem  at 
first  sight  to  be  difficult  to  fulfil.  But  when  it  is  considered 
that  any  function  of  any  number  of  operations  performed 
upon  any  variables  is  but  a  combination  of  the  four  simple 
signs  of  operation  with  various  quantities,  it  becomes  ap- 
parent that  any  function  whatever  may  be  represented  by 
two  groups  of  cards,  the  first  being  signs  of  operation,  placed 
in  the  order  in  which  they  succeed  each  other,  and  the  second 
group  of  cards  representing  the  variables  and  constants  placed 
in  the  order  of  succession  in  which  they  are  acted  upon  by  the 
former. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  whole  of  the  conditions  which 
enable  a  finite  machine  to  make  calculations  of  unlimited 
extent  are  fulfilled  in  the  Analytical  Engine.  The  means  I 
have  adopted  are  uniform.  I  have  converted  the  infinity  of 
space,  which  was  required  by  the  conditions  of  tlie  problem, 
into  the  infinity  of  time.    The  means  I  have  employed  are  in 


MAKE  UNLIMITED  CALCULATIOX.  129 

daily  use  in  the  art  of  weaving  patterns.  It  is  accomplished  by 
systems  of  cards  punched  with  yarious  holes  strung  together 
to  any  extent  which  may  be  demanded.  Two  large  boxes, 
the  one  empty  and  the  other  filled  with  perforated  cards,  are 
placed  before  and  behind  a  polygonal  prism,  which  revolyes 
at  intervals  upon  its  axis,  and  advances  through  a  short  space, 
after  which  it  immediately  returns. 

A  card  passes  over  the  prism  just  before  each  stroke  of  the 
shuttle ;  the  cards  that  have  passed  hang  down  until  they 
reach  the  empty  box  placed  to  receive  them,  into  which  they 
arrange  themselves  one  over  the  other.  When  the  box  is  full, 
another  empty  box  is  placed  to  receive  the  coming  cards,  and 
a  new  full  box  on  the  opposite  side  replaces  the  one  just 
emptied.  As  the  suspended  cards  on  the  entering  side  are 
exactly  equal  to  those  on  the  side  at  which  the  others  are 
delivered,  they  are  perfectly  balanced,  so  that  whether  the 
formula)  to  be  computed  be  excessively  complicated  or  very 
simple,  the  force  to  be  exerted  always  remains  nearly  the 
same. 

In  1840  I  received  from  my  friend  M.  Plana  a  letter 
pressing  me  strongly  to  visit  Turin  at  the  then  approaching 
meeting  of  Italian  philosophers.  In  that  letter  M.  Plana 
stated  that  he  had  inquired  anxiously  of  many  of  my  country- 
men about  the  power  and  mechanism  of  the  Analytical 
Engina  He  remarked  that  from  all  the  information  he 
could  collect  the  case  seemed  to  stand  thus : — 

"  Hitherto  tlie  legislative  department  of  our  analysis  has 
been  all  powerful — ^the  exeeutive  all  feeble. 

"  Your  engine  seems  to  give  us  the  same  control  over  the 
executive  which  we  have  hitherto  only  possessed  over  the 
legislative  department." 

(^onHidering  the   exceedingly  limited   information  which 


130  DISCUSSIONS  AT  TURIN. 

could  have  reached  my  friend  respecting  the  Analytical 
Engine,  I  was  equally  surprised  and  delighted  at  his  exact 
prevision  of  its  powers.  Even  at  the  present  moment  I  could 
not  express  more  clearly,  and  in  fewer  terms,  its  real  object. 
I  collected  together  such  of  my  models,  drawings,  and  nota- 
tions as  I  conceived  to  be  best  adapted  to  give  an  insight 
into  the  principles  and  mode  of  operating  of  the  Analy- 
tical Engine.  On  mentioning  my  intention  to  my  excellent 
friend  the  late  Professor  MacCullagh,  he  resolved  to  give  up 
a  trip  to  the  Tyrol,  and  join  me  at  Tiu-in. 

We  met  at  Turin  at  the  appointed  time,  and  as  soon  as  the 
first  bustle  of  the  meeting  had  a  little  abated,  I  had  the  great 
pleasure  of  receiving  at  my  own  apartments,  for  several  morn- 
ings, Messrs.  Plana,  Menabrea,  Mossotti,  MacCullagh,  Planta- 
mour,  and  others  of  the  most  eminent  geometers  and  engineers 
of  Italy. 

Around  the  room  were  hung  the  formula,  the  drawings, 
notations,  and  other  illustrations  which  I  had  brought  with 
me.  I  began  on  the  first  day  to  give  a  short  outline  of  the 
idea.  My  friends  asked  from  tune  to  time  further  explana- 
tions of  parts  I  had  not  made  sufficiently  dear.  M.  Plana 
had  at  first  proposed  to  make  notes,  in  order  to  write  an  out- 
line of  the  principles  of  the  engine.  But  his  own  laborious 
pursuits  induced  him  to  give  up  this  plan,  and  to  transfer 
the  task  to  a  younger  friend  of  his,  M.  Menabrea,  who  had 
already  established  his  reputation  as  a  profound  analyst 

These  discussions  were  of  great  value  to  me  in  several 
ways.  I  was  thus  obliged  to  put  into  language  the  various 
views  I  had  taken,  and  I  observed  the  effect  of  my  explana- 
tions on  different  minds.  My  own  ideas  became  clearer,  and 
I  profited  by  many  of  the  remarks  made  by  my  highly-gifted 
friends. 


MOSOTTra  DIFFICULTY.  181 

One  day  Mosotti,  who  had  been  unavoidably  absent  fix)m 
the  previoos  meeting,  when  a  question  of  great  importance 
had  been  discussed,  again  joined  the  party.  Well  aware  of 
the  acuteness  and  rapidity  of  my  friend's  intellect,  I  asked 
my  other  friends  to  allow  me  five  minutes  to  conyey  to  Pro- 
fessor Mosotti  the  substance  of  the  preceding  sitting.  After 
putting  a  few  questions  to  Mosotti  himself,  he  placed  before 
me  distinctly  his  greatest  difficulty. 

He  remarked  that  he  was  now  quite  ready  to  admit  the 
power  of  mechanism  over  numerical,  and  even  over  algebrai- 
cal relations,  to  any  extent  But  he  added  that  he  had  no 
conception  how  the  machine  could  perform  the  act  of  judg- 
ment sometimes  required  duruig  an  analytical  inquiry,  when 
two  or  more  different  courses  presented  themselves,  especially 
as  the  proper  course  to  be  adopted  coidd  not  be  known  in 
many  cases  until  all  the  previous  portion  had  been  gone 
through. 

I  then  inquired  whether  the  solution  of  a  numerical  equa- 
tion of  any  degree  by  the  usual,  but  very  tedious  proceeding 
of  approximation  would  be  a  type  of  the  difficulty  to  be 
explained.  He  at  once  admitted  that  it  woidd  be  a  very 
eminent  one. 

For  the  sake  of  perspicuity  and  brevity  I  shall  confine  my 
present  explanation  to  possible  roots. 

I  then  mentioned  the  successive  stages : — 

Number  of  Upentkm  • 

Outtoued. 

1  o.  Ascertain  the  number  of  possible  roots  by  apply- 

ing Sturm's  theorem  to  the  coefficients. 

2  b.  Find  a  number  greater  than  the  greatest  root 

3  e.  Substitute  the  powers  of  ten  (commencing  with 

that  next  greater  than  the  greatest  root,  and 

k2 


132 


SOLUTION  OF  EQUATIONS. 


t^r\% 


Number  of  Operation 
Canto  uiwd. 


^^. 


diminishing  the  powers  by  unity  at  each  step) 
for  the  value  of  x  in  the  given  equation. 

Continue  this  until  the  sign  of  the  resulting 
number  changes  from  positive  to  negative. 
The  index  of  the  last  power  of  ten  (call 
it  n),  which  is  positive,  expresses  the  num- 
ber of  digits  in  that  part  of  the  root  which 
consists  of  whole  numbers.  Call  this  in- 
dex n  +  1. 

4  d.  Substitute  successively  for  x  in  the  original  equa- 

tion 0  X  10°,  1  X  10",  2  X  10°,  3  X  10°,  .... 
9  X  10°,  until  a  change  of  sign  occurs  in  the 
result  The  digit  previously  substituted  will 
be  the  first  figure  of  the  root  sought 

5  e.  Transform    the    original   equation   into  another 

whose  roots  are  less  by  the  number  thus  found. 
The  transformed  equation  will  have  a  real 
root,  the  digit,  less  than  10°. 

6  jT.   Substitute  1  x  10°-»,  2  x  10 °»,  3  x  10° ^  &c., 

successively  for  the  root  of  this  equation,  until 
f        a  change  of  sign  occurs  in  the  result,  as  in  pro* 
cess  4. 

This  will  give  the  second  figure  of  the  root 
This  process  of  alternately  finding  a  new 
figure  in  the  root,  and  then  transforming 
the  equation  into  another  (as  in  process  4 
and  5),  must  be  carried  on  until  as  many 
figures  as  are  required,  whether  whole 
numbers  or  decimals,  are  arrived  at 

7  g.   The  root  thus  found  must  now  be  used  to  reduce 

the  original  equation  to  one  dimension  lower. 


SOLUTION  OF  EQUATIONS.  133 


Numhpr  of  Operation 
GATdsuted. 


8  h.   This  new  equation  of  one  dimension  lower  must 

now  be  treated  by  sections  3,  4,  5,  6,  and  7, 
until  the  new  root  is  found. 

9  I.    The  repetition  of  sections  7  and  8  miist  go  on 

until  all  the  roots  have  been  found 

Now  it  will  be  observed  that  Professor  Mosotti  was  quite 
ready  to  admit  at  once  that  each  of  these  different  processes 
could  be  performed  by  the  Analytical  Machine  through  the 
medium  of  properly-arranged  sets  of  Jacquard  cards. 

His  real  difficulty  consisted  in  teaching  tlie  engine  to  know 
when  to  change  from  one  set  of  cards  to  another,  and  back 
again  repeatedly,  at  intervals  not  known  to  the  person  who 
gave  the  orders. 

The  dimensions  of  the  algebraic  equation  being  known, 
the  number  of  arithmetical  processes  necessary  for  Sturm's 
theorem  is  consequently  known.  A  set  of  operation  cards 
can  therefore  be  prepared.  These  must  be  accompanied  by 
a  corresponding  set  of  variable  cards,  which  will  represent 
the  columns  in  the  store,  on  which  the  several  coefficients  of 
the  given  equation,  and  the  various  combinations  required 
amongst  them,  are  to  be  placed. 

The  next  stage  is  to  find  a  number  greater  than  the  greatest 
root  of  the  given  equation.  There  are  various  courses  for 
arriving  at  such  a  number.  Any  one  of  these  being  selected, 
another  set  of  operation  and  variable  cards  can  be  prepared 
to  execute  this  operation. 

Now,  as  this  second  process  invariably  follows  the  first,  the 
second  set  of  cards  may  be  attached  to  the  first  set,  and  the 
engine  will  pass  on  from  the  first  to  the  second  process,  and 
again  from  the  second  to  the  third  process. 


134  SOLUTION  OF  EQUATIONS. 

But  here  a  difficulty  arises :  successive  powers  of  ten  are  to 
be  substituted  for  x  in  the  equation,  until  a  certain  eyent 
happens.  A  set  of  cards  may  be  provided  to  make  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  highest  power  of  ten,  and  similarly  for  the 
others ;  but  on  the  occurrence  of  a  certain  event,  namely, 
the  change  of  a  sign  from  +  to  — ,  this  stage  of  the  calcula- 
tion is  to  terminate. 

Now  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  inquiry  I  had  found  it 
necessary  to  teach  the  engine  to  know  when  any  numbers  it 
might  be  computing  passed  through  zero  or  infinity. 

The  passage  through  zero  can  be  easily  ascertained,  thus : 
Let  the  continually-decreasing  number  which  is  being  com- 
puted be  placed  upon  a  column  of  wheels  in  connection  with 
a  carrying  apparatus.  After  each  process  this  number  will  be 
diminished,  until  at  last  a  number  is  subtracted  from  it 
which  is  greater  than  the  number  expressed  on  those  wheels. 

Thus  let  it  be    .    00000,00000,00000,00423 
Subtract   .     .     .    00000,00000,00000,00511 


99999,99999,99999,99912 

Now  in  every  case  of  a  carriage  becoming  due,  a  certain 
lever  is  transferred  from  one  position  to  another  in  the  cage 
next  above  it 

Consequently  in  the  highest  cage  of  all  (say  the  fiftieth  in 
the  Analytical  Engine),  an  arm  will  be  moved  or  not  moved 
accordingly  as  the  carriages  do  or  do  not  run  up  beyond  the 
highest  wheel. 

This  arm  can,  of  course,  make  any  change  which  has  pre- 
viously been  decided  upon.  In  the  instance  we  have  been 
considering  it  would  order  the  cards  to  be  turned  on  to  the 
next  set. 

K  we  wish  to  lind  when  any  number,  which  is  increasing. 


GENERAL  MENABBEA'S  DESGBIPTION.  185 

exceeds  in  the  number  of  its  digits  the  number  of  wheels  on 
the  columns  of  the  machine,  the  same  carrying  arm  can  be 
employed.  Hence  any  directions  may  be  giyen  which  the 
circumstances  require. 

It  will  be  remarked  that  this  does  not  actually  proye,  even 
in  the  Analytical  Engine  of  fifty  figures,  that  the  number 
computed  has  passed  through  infinity ;  but  only  that  it  has 
become  greater  than  any  number  of  fifty  places  of  figures. 

There  are,  howeyer,  methods  by  which  any  machine  made 
for  a  given  number  of  figures  may  be  made  to  compute  the  same 
formulsB  with  double  or  any  multiple  of  its  original  number. 
But  the  nature  of  this  work  preyents  me  from  explaining  that 
method. 

It  may  here  be  remarked  that  in  the  process,  the  cards 
employed  to  make  the  substitutions  of  the  powers  of  ten  are 
operation  cards.  They  are,  therefore,  quite  independent  of 
the  numerical  yalues  substituted.  Hence  the  same  set  of 
operation  cards  which  order  the  substitutions  1  X  10"  will,  if 
backed,  order  the  substitution  of  2  x  10°,  &c.  We  may, 
therefore,  ayall  ourselves  of  mechanism  for  backing  these 
cards,  and  call  it  into  action  whenever  the  drcumstancee 
themselves  require  it. 

The  explanation  of  M.  Mosotti's  di£Sculty  is  this : — ^Mecha- 
nical means  have  been  provided  for  backing  or  advancing 
the  operation  cards  to  any  extent.  There  exist  means  of 
expressing  the  conditions  under  which  these  various  processes 
are  required  to  be  called  into  play.  It  is  not  even  necessary 
that  two  courses  only  should  be  possible.  Any  number 
of  courses  may  be  possible  at  the  same  time ;  and  the  choice 
of  each  may  depend  upon  any  number  of  conditions. 

It  was  during  these  meetings  that  ray  highly  valued  friend, 
M.  Menabrea,  collected  the  materials   for  that  lucid  and 


136  THE  COUNTESS  OF  LOVELACE'S  NOTES. 

admirable  description  which  he  subsequently  published  in 
the  Bibli.  Univ.  de  Geneve,  t.  xli.  Oct  1842. 

The  elementary  principles  on  which  the  Analytical  Engine 
rests  were  thus  in  the  first  instance  brought  before  the  public 
by  General  Menabrea. 

Some  time  after  the  appearance  of  his  memoir  on  the 
subject  in  the  "  Bibliothfeque  Universelle  de  Geneve,"  the 
late  Countess  of  Lovelace  *  informed  me  that  she  had  trans- 
lated the  memoir  of  Menabrea.  I  asked  why  she  had  not 
herself  widtten  an  original  paper  on  a  subject  with  which  she 
was  so  intimately  acquainted  ?  To  this  Lady  Lovelace  replied 
that  the  thought  had  not  occurred  to  her.  I  then  suggested 
that  she  should  add  some  notes  to  Menabrea's  memoir;  an 
idea  which  was  immediately  adopted. 

We  discussed  together  the  various  illustrations  that  might 
be  introduced:  I  suggested  several,  but  the  selection  was 
entirely  her  own.  So  also  was  the  algebraic  working  out  of 
the  diflTerent  problems,  except,  indeed,  that  relating  to  the 
numbers  of  Bemouilli,  which  I  had  offered  to  do  to  save 
Lady  Lovelace  the  trouble.  This  she  sent  back  to  me  for 
an  amendment,  having  detected  a  grave  mistake  wliich  I  had 
made  in  the  process. 

The  notes  of  the  Countess  of  Lovelace  extend  to  about 
three  times  the  length  of  the  original  memoir.  Their  author 
has  entered  fully  into  almost  all  the  very  difficult  and  abstract 
questions  connected  with  the  subject. 

These  two  memoirs  taken  together  furnish,  to  those  who 
are  capable  of  understanding  the  reasoning,  a  complete  de- 
monstration— That  Hie  whole  of  the  developmenis  and  operations 
of  analysis  are  now  capable  of  being  executed  by  machinery. 

There  are  various  methods  by  which  these  developments 
•  Ada  Augusta,  Countess  of  Lovelace,  only  child  of  the  Poet  Byron. 


VAKIOUS  APPLICATIONS  137 

are  arrived  at : — 1.  By  the  aid  of  the  Differential  and  Integral 
CalculiLs.  2.  By  the  Combinatorial  Analysis  of  Hindenburg. 
3.  By  the  Calculus  of  Derivations  of  Arbogast 

Each  of  these  systems  professes  to  expand  any  function 
according  to  any  laws.  Theoretically  each  method  may  be 
admitted  to  be  perfect ;  but  practically  the  time  and  attention 
required  are,  in  the  greater  number  of  cases,  more  than  the 
human  mind  is  able  to  bestow.  Consequently,  upon  several 
highly  interesting  questions  relative  to  the  Lunar  theory, 
some  of  the  ablest  and  most  indefatigable  of  existing  analysts 
are  at  variance. 

The  Analytical  Engine  is  capable  of  executing  the  laws 
prescribed  by  each  of  these  methods.  At  one  period  I  exa- 
mined the  Combinatorial  Analysis,  and  also  took  some  pains 
to  ascertain  from  several  of  my  German  friends,  who  had  had 
far  more  experience  of  it  than  myself,  whether  it  could  be 
used  with  greater  facility  than  the  Differential  system.  They 
seemed  to  think  that  it  was  more  readily  applicable  to  all 
the  usual  wants  of  analysis. 

I  have  myself  worked  with  the  system  of  Arbogast,  and  if 
I  were  to  decide  from  my  own  limited  use  of  the  three 
methods,  I  should,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Analytical  Engine, 
prefer  the  Calcul  des  Derivations. 

As  soon  as  an  Analytical  Engine  exists,  it  will  necessarily 
guide  the  future  course  of  the  science.  Whenever  any  result 
is  sought  by  its  aid,  the  question  will  then  arise— By  what 
course  of  calculation  can  these  results  be  arrived  at  by  the 
machine  in  the  shortest  time  ? 

In  the  drawings  I  have  prepared  I  proposed  to  have  a 
thousand  variables,  upon  each  of  which  any  number  not 
having  moi-e  than  fifty  figures  can  be  placed.  This  machine 
would  multiply  50  figures  by  other  50,  and  print  the  product 


138  ERRORS  OF  TABLES. 

of  100  figures.  Or  it  would  divide  any  number  having  100 
figures  by  any  other  of  50  figures,  and  print  the  quotient  of 
50  figures.  Allowing  but  a  moderate  velocity  for  the  machine, 
the  time  occupied  by  either  of  these  operations  would  be  about 
one  minute. 

The  whole  of  the  numerical  constants  throughout  the  works 
of  Laplace,  Plana,  Le  Yerrier,  Hansen,  and  other  eminent 
men  whose  indefatigable  labours  have  brought  astronomy  to 
its  present  advanced  state,  might  easily  be  recomputed. 
They  are  but  the  numerical  coeflScients  of  the  various  terms 
of  functions  developed  according  to  certain  series.  In  all 
cases  in  which  these  numerical  constants  can  be  calculated 
by  more  than  one  method,  it  might  be  desirable  to  compute 
them  by  several  processes  until  frequent  practice  shall  have 
confirmed  our  belief  in  the  infallibility  of  mechanism. 

The  great  importance  of  having  accurate  Tables  is  admitted 
by  all  who  understand  their  uses ;  but  the  multitude  of  errors 
really  occurring  is  comparatively  little  known.  Dr.  Lardner, 
in  the  "  Edinburgh  Review,"  has  made  some  very  instructive 
remarks  on  this  subject 

I  shall  mention  two  within  my  own  experience :  these  are 
selected  because  they  occurred  in  works  where  neither  care 
nor  expense  were  spared  on  the  part  of  the  Government 
to  insure  perfect  accuracy.  It  is,  however,  but  just  to  the 
eminent  men  who  presided  over  the  preparation  of  these 
works  for  the  press  to  observe,  that  the  real  fault  lay  not  in 
them  but  in  the  nature  of  things. 

In  1828  I  lent  the  Government  an  original  MS.  of  the 
table  of  Logarithmic  Sines,  Cosines,  &c.,  computed  to  every 
second  of  the  quadrant,  in  order  that  they  might  have  it 
compared  with  Taylor's  Logarithms,  4to.,  1792,  of  which 
they  possessed  a  considerable  number  of  copies.    Nineteen 


ERRORS  OF  TABLES.  139 

errors  were  thus  detected,  and  a  list  of  these  errata  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Nautical  Almanac  for  1832:    these  may  be 

called 

Nineteen  errata  of  the  first  order      .     .     1832 

An  error  being  detected  in  one  of  these   errata,  in  the  fol- 
lowing Nautical  Almanac  we  find  an 

Erratum  of  the  errata  in  N.  Aim.  1832    .     .     1833 

But  in  this  very  erratum  of  the  second  order  a  new  mistake 
was  introduced  larger  than  any  of  the  original  mistakes. 
In  the  year  next  following  there  ought  to  have  been  found 
Erratum  in  the  erratum  of  the  errata  in  N.  Aim. 
1832 1834 

In  the  "  Tables  de  la  Lune,"  by  M.  P.  A.  Hansen,  4to,  1857, 
published  at  the  expense  of  the  English  Government^  under 
the  direction  of  the  Astronomer  Boyal,  is  to  be  found  a  list 
of  errata  amounting  to  155.  In  the  21st  of  these  original 
errata  there  have  been  found  three  mistakes.  These  are 
duly  noted  in  a  newly-printed  list  of  errata  discovered  during 
computations  made  with  them  in  the  ''  Nautical  Almanac ;" 
so  that  we  now  have  the  errata  of  an  erratum  of  the  original 
work. 

This  list  of  errata  from  the  o£Sce  of  the  "  Nautical  Almanac  " 
is  larger  than  the  original  list  The  total  number  of  errors 
at  present  (1862)  discovered  in  Hansen's  "  Tables  of  the 
Moon"  amounts  to  above  three  hundred  and  fifty.  In 
making  these  remarks  I  have  no  intention  of  imputing  the 
slightest  blame  to  the  Astronomer  Boyal,  who,  like  other 
men,  cannot  avoid  submitting  to  inevitable  fate.  The  only 
circumstance  which  is  really  extraordinary  is  that,  when  it 
was  demonstrated  that  all  tables  are  capable  of  being  com- 
puted by  machinery,  and  even  when  a  machine  existed  which 


HO  ERRORS  OF  TABLES. 

computed  certain  tables,  that  the  Astronomer  Boyal  did  not 
become  the  most  enthusiastic  supporter  of  an  instrument 
which  could  render  such  inyaluable  service  to  his  own  science. 

In  the  Supplementary  Notices  of  the  Astronomical  Society, 
No.  9,  vol.  xxiiL,  p.  259,  1863,  there  occurs  a  Paper  by 
M.  G.  de  Ponteculant,  in  which  forty-nine  numerical  coeflB- 
cients  relative  to  the  Longitude,  Latitude,  and  Eadius  vector 
of  the  Moon  are  given  as  computed  by  Plana,  Delaunay,  and 
Ponteculant.  The  computations  of  Plana  and  Ponteculant 
agree  in  thirteen  cases ;  those  of  Delaunay  and  Ponteculant 
in  two ;  and  in  the  remaining  thirty-four  cases  they  all  three 
differ. 

I  am  unwilling  to  terminate  this  chapter  without  reference 
to  another  difficulty  now  arising,  which  is  calculated  to  im. 
pede  the  progress  of  Analytical  Science.  The  extension  of 
analysis  is  so  rapid,  its  domain  so  unlimited,  and  so  many 
inquirers  are  entering  into  its  fields,  that  a  variety  of  new 
symbols  have  been  introduced,  formed  on  no  common  prin- 
ciples. Many  of  these  are  merely  new  ways  of  expressing 
well-known  functions.  Unless  some  philosophical  principles 
are  generally  admitted  as  the  basis  of  all  notation,  there 
appears  a  great  probability  of  introducing  the  confusion  of 
Babel  into  the  most  accurate  of  all  languages. 

A  few  months  ago  I  turned  back  to  a  paper  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions,  1844,  to  examine  some  analytical 
investigations  of  great  interest  by  an  author  who  has  thought 
deeply  on  the  subject  It  related  to  the  separation  of  sym- 
bols of  operation  from  those  of  quantity,  a  question  pecuUarly 
interesting  to  me,  since  the  Analytical  Engine  contains  the 
embodiment  of  that  method.  There  was  no  ready,  sufficient, 
and  simple  mode  of  distinguishing  letters  which  represented 
quantity  from  those  which  indicated  operation.     To  under- 


REMARKS  ON  ANALYSIS.  141 

stand  the  results  the  author  had  arrived  at,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  read  the  whole  Memoir. 

Although  deeply  interested  in  the  subject,  I  was  obliged, 
with  great  regret,  to  give  up  the  attempt ;  for  it  not  only 
occupied  much  time,  but  placed  too  great  a  strain  on  the 
memory. 

Whenever  I  am  thus  perplexed  it  has  often  occurred  to  me 
that  the  very  simple  plan  I  have  adopted  in  my  Mechanical 
Notation  for  lettering  drawings  might  be  adopted  in  analysis. 

On  the  geometrical  drawings  of  machinery  every  piece  of 
matter  which  represents  framework  is  invaiiably  denoted  by 
an  upright  letter ;  wliilst  all  letters  indicating  moveable  parts 
are  marked  by  inclined  letters. 

The  analogous  rule  would  be — 

Let  all  letters  indicating  operations  or  modifications  be 
expressed  by  upriglU  letters ; 

Whilst  all  letters  representing  quantity  should  be  repre- 
sented by  inclined  letters. 

The  subject  of  the  principles  and  laws  of  notation  is  so 
important  that  it  is  desireable,  before  it  is  too  late,  that  the 
scientific  academies  of  the  world  should  each  contribute  the 
results  of  their  own  examination  and  conclusions,  and  that 
some  congress  should  assemble  to  discuss  them.  Perhaps 
it  might  be  still  better  if  each  academy  would  draw  up  its 
o>vn  views,  illustrated  by  examples,  and  have  a  sufiicient 
number  printed  to  send  to  all  other  academies. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

OP  THE   MECHANICAL  NOTATION. 

Art  of  Lettering  Drawings— Of  expressing  the  Time  and  Duration  of  Acliou 
of  every  Part — A  New  Demonstrative  Science — Royal  Medals  of  1826. 

Soon  after  I  had  commenced  the  Difference  Engine,  my 
attention  was  strongly  directed  to  the  imperfection  of  all 
known  modes  of  explaining  and  demonstrating  the  constrac- 
tion  of  machinery.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  my 
progress  would  be  seriously  impeded  unless  I  could  devise 
more  rapid  means  of  understanding  and  recalling  the  in- 
terpretation of  my  own  drawings. 

By  a  new  system  of  very  simple  signs  I  ultimately  suc- 
ceeded in  rendering  the  most  complicated  machine  capable 
of  explanation  almost  without  the  aid  of  words. 

In  order  thoroughly  to  understand  the  action  of  any 
machine,  we  must  have  full  information  upon  the  following 
subjects,  and  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  this 
information  should  be  acquired  in  the  shortest  possible 
time. 

L  The  actual  shape  and  relative  position  of  every  piece  of 
matter  of  which  the  machine  is  composed. 

This  can  be  accomplished  by  the  ordinary  mechanical 
drawings.  Such  drawings  usually  have  letters  upon  them 
for  the  sake  of  reference  in  the  description  of  the  machine. 
Hitherto  such  letters  were  chosen  without  any   principle. 


RULES  FOR  LETTERING.  143 

and  in  fiEtct  gave  no  indication  of  anything  except  the  mere 
spot  upon  the  paper  on  which  they  were  written. 

I  then  laid  down  roles  for  the  selection  of  letters.  I  shall 
only  mention  one  or  two  of  them : — 

1.  All  upright  letters,  as  a»  c,  d,  e,  A,  B,  represent  framing. 

2.  All  inclined  letters,  as  a,  e,  dy  e.  A,  B,  represent  move- 
able parts. 

3.  All  small  letters  represent  working  points.  One  of  the 
most  obvious  advantages  of  these  rules  is  that  they  enable 
the  attention  to  be  more  easily  confined  to  the  immediate 
object  sought 

By  other  rules  it  is  rendered  possible,  when  looking  at  a 
plan  of  any  complicated  machine,  to  perceive  'the  relative 
order  of  super-position  of  any  number  of  wheels,  arms,  &c., 
without  referring  to  the  elevation  or  end  view. 

IL  The  actual  time  and  duration  of  every  motion  through- 
out the  action  of  any  machine  can  be  ascertained  almost  in- 
stantly by  a  system  of  signs  called  the  Notations  of  Periods. 

It  possesses  equal  facilities  for  ascertaining  every  contem- 
poraneous as  well  as  for  every  successive  system  of  move- 
ments. 

nL  The  actual  connection  of  each  moveable  piece  of  the 
machine  with  every  other  on  which  it  acts.  Thus,  taking 
from  any  special  part  of  the  drawing  the  indicating  letter, 
and  looking  for  it  on  a  certain  diagram,  called  the  trains,  the 
whole  course  of  its  movements  may  be  traced,  up  to  the 
prime  mover,  or  down  to  the  final  result 

I  have  called  this  system  of  signs  the  Mechanical  Notation. 
By  its  application  to  geometrical  drawing  it  has  given  us 
a  new  demonstrative  science,  namely,  that  of  proving  that 
any  given  machine  can  or  cannot  exist ;  and  if  it  can  exist, 
that  it  will  accomplish  its  desired  object 


144  ASTRONOMICAL  MEDAL. 

It  is  singular  that  this  addition  to  human  knowledge 
should  have  been  made  just  about  the  period  when  it  was 
beginning  to  be  felt  by  those  most  eminently  skilled  in 
analysis  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  many  of  its  conclu- 
sions rested  only  on  probable  evidence.  This  state  of  things 
arose  chiefly  from  the  enormous  extent  to  which  the  de- 
velopments were  necessarily  carried  in  the  lunar  and  planet- 
ary theories. 

After  employing  this  language  for  several  years,  it  was 
announced,  in  December  1825,  that  King  William  IV.  had 
founded  two  medals  of  fifty  guineas  each,  to  be  given 
annually  by  the  Royal  Society  according  to  rules  to  be  laid 
down  by  the  Council. 

On  the  26th  January  1826,  it  was  resolved, 

"  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Council  that  the  medals 
be  awarded  for  the  most  important  discoveries  or  series 
of  investigations,  completed  and  made  kno\*Ti  to  the  Royal 
Society  in  the  year  preceding  the  day  of  the  award." 

Tliis  rule  reduced  the  number  of  competitors  to  a  very 
few.  Although  I  had  had  some  experience  as  to  the  mode 
in  which  medals  were  awarded,  and  therefore  valued  them 
accordingly,  I  was  simple  enough  to  expect  that  the  Council 
of  the  Royal  Society  would  not  venture  upon  a  fraud  on 
the  very  first  occasion  of  exercising  the  royal  liberality.  I 
had  also  another  motive  for  taking  a  ticket  in  this  philo- 
sophical lottery  of  medals. 

In  1824,  the  Astronomical  Society  did  me  the  honour  to 
award  to  me  the  first  gold  medal  they  ever  bestowed.  It 
was  rendered  still  more  grateful  by  the  address  of  that 
eminent  man,  the  late  Henry  Thomas  Colebrooke,  the  Pre- 
sident, who  in  a  spirit  of  prophecy  anticipated  the  results  of 
years,  at  tliat  period,  long  future. 


ROYAL  SOCIETY  MEDAL.  145 

"  It  may  not,  therefore,  be  deemed  too  san^i^ume  an  anti- 
*"  cipation,  when  I  express  the  hope  that  an  instrument  which 
**  in  its  simpler  form  attains  to  the  extraction  of  the  roots  of 
^*  numbers,  and  approximates  to  the  roots  of  equations,  may, 
''  in  a  more  advanced  ^tate  of  improvement,  rise  to  the 
''  approximate  solutions  of  algebraic  equations  of  elevated 
''  degrees.  I  refer  to  solutions  of  such  equations  proposed 
**  by  Lagrange,  and  more  recently  by  other  analysts,  which 
"  involve  operations  too  tedious  and  intricate  for  use,  and 
**  which  must  remain  without  efficacy,  unless  some  mode  be 
''  devised  of  abridging  the  labour  or  facilitating  the  means  of 
"  performance."* 

I  felt,  therefore,  that  the  first  Royal  Medal  might  feurly 
become  an  object  of  ambition,  whatever  might  be  the  worth 
of  subsequent  ones. 

In  order  to  qualify  myself  for  this  chance,  I  carefully  drew 
up  a  paper,  ''On  a  Method  of  expressing  by  Signs  the 
Action  of  Machinery,"  which  I  otherwise  should  not  have 
published  at  that  time. 

This  Memoir  was  read  at  the  Royal  Society  on  the  16th 
March,  1826.  To  the  system  of  signs  which  it  first  ex- 
pounded I  afterwards  gave  the  name  of  **  Mechanical  Nota- 
tion." It  had  been  used  in  England  and  in  Ireland,  although 
not  taught  in  its  schools.  It  applies  to  the  description  of 
a  combat  by  sea  or  by  land.  It  can  assist  in  representing 
the  functions  of  animal  life ;  and  I  have  had  both  from  the 
Continent  and  from  the  United  States,  specimens  of  such 
applications.  Finally,  to  whatever  degree  of  simplicity  I 
may  at  last  have  reduced  the  Analytical  Engine,  the  course 

*  *  Diaooune  of  the  Prarident  on  deliyermg  the  first  Gold  Medal  of  the  Astio- 
Dcmioal  ^Society  to  QiarleB  Babhage,  Esq.*  '  Memoirs  of  the  Astranomical 
Society;  tdI.  I  p.  509. 

L 


146  ROYAL  SOCIETY  MEDAL. 

through  which  I  arriyed  at  it  was  the  most  entangled  and 
perplexed  which  probably  ever  occupied  the  human  mind. 
Through  the  aid  of  the  Mechanical  Notation  I  examined 
numberless  plans  and  systems  uf  computing,  and  I  am  sure, 
fix)m  the  nature  of  its  self-necessary  verifications  that  it  is 
impossible  I  can  have  been  deceived. 

On  the  16th  November,  1826,  that  very  Council  of  the 
Royal  Society  which  had  made  the  law  took  the  earliest 
opportunity  to  violate  it  by  awarding  the  two  Royal  Medals, 
the  first  to  Dalton,  whose  great  discovery  had  been  made 
nearly  twenty  years  before,  and  the  other  to  Ivory,  for 
a  paper  published  in  their  "  Transactions"  three  years  before. 
The  history  of  their  proceedings  will  be  found  in  the 
"  Decline  of  Science  in  England,"  p.  115, 1830. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

THE  EXHIBITION  OF  1862. 


"  En  admiiuBtratioD,  iofitee  les  sottinB  aont  m^res.'*— Jfoxtinet,  par  M.  O. 
De  Leyis. 

"  An  abject  worship  of  prinoes  and  an  nnaooountable  appetite  for  knighthood 
are  probably  nuayoidable  resalts  of  placing  seoond-rafte  men  in  prominent 
poaitionB.''— £^aterday  Review,  January  16, 1864. 

*«Whoee  &nlt  is  this?  Bat  tallow,  toys,  and  sweetmeats  eridently  stand 
high  in  the  estimation  of  Her  Majesty's  Oommissioners.**— 2%«  TYmei,  August 
18, 1862.  

Mr.  Gravatt  suggests  to  King's  College  the  exhibition  of  the  Difference 
Engine  No.  1,  and  offers  to  superintend  its  Transmission  and  Return — 
Place  allotted  to  it  most  unfit — Not  Exhibited  in  1851 — Its  Loan  refused 
to  New  York— Refused  to  the  Dublin  Exhibition  in  1847— Not  sent  to 
the  great  French  Exhibition  in  1855 — Its  Exhibition  in  1862  entirely 
due  to  Mr.  Gravatt — Space  for  its  Drawings  refused — ^ITie  Payment  of 
Six  Shillings  a  Day  for  a  competent  person  to  explain  it  refiised  by  the 
Commissioners— Copy  of  Swedish  Difference  Engine  made  by  English 
Workmen  not  exhibited — Ixxm  of  various  other  Calculating  Machines 
offered — ^Anecdote  of  Count  Strzelecki*s — ^The  Royal  Commissioners' 
elaborate  taste  for  Children's  Toys — ^A  plan  for  making  such  Exhibitions 
profitable — ^Extravagance  of  the  Commissioners  to  their  favourite — Con- 
trast between  his  Treatment  and  that  of  Industrious  Workmen — llie 
Inventor  of  the  Difference  Engine  publicly  insulted  by  his  Countrymen 
in  the  Exhibition  of  1862. 

Cireumstances  connected  with  the  Exhibition  of  the  Difference 

Engine  No.  1  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1862. 
When  the  oonstraction  of  the  Difference  Engine  No.  1  was 
abandoned  by  the  Goyemment  in  1842, 1  was  consulted  re- 
specting the  place  in  which  it  should  be  deposited.    Well 
aware  of  the  unrivalled  perfection  of  its  workmanahip,  and 

l2 


U8  ENGINE  No.  1  IK  KING'S  COLLEGE. 

conscious  that  it  formed  the  first  great  step  towards  reducing 
the  whole  science  of  number  to  the  absolute  control  of 
mechanism,  I  wished  it  to  be  placed  wherever  the  greatest 
number  of  persons  could  see  it  daily. 

With  this  view,  I  advised  that  it  should  be  placed  in  one 
of  the  much-frequented  rooms  of  the  British  Museum.  An- 
other locality  was,  however,  assigned  to  it,  and  it  was  con- 
fided by  the  Grovernment  to  the  care  of  King's  College, 
Somerset  House.  It  remained  in  safe  custody  within  its 
glass  case  in  the  Museum  of  that  body  for  twenty  years. 
It  is  remarkable  that  during  that  long  period  no  person 
should  have  studied  its  structure,  and,  by  explaining  its 
nature  and  use,  have  acquired  an  amoimt  of  celebrity  which 
the  singularity  of  that  knowledge  would  undoubtedly  have 
produced. 

The  College  authorities  did  justice  to  their  charge.  They 
put  it  in  the  place  of  honour,  in  the  centre  of  their  Museum, 
and  would,  no  doubt  have  given  facilities  to  any  of  their 
members  or  to  other  persons  who  might  have  wished  to 
study  it 

But  the  system  quietly  pursued  by  the  Government,  of 
ignoring  the  existence  of  the  Difference  Engine  and  its 
inventor  doubtlessly  exercised  its  deadening  influence*  on 
those  who  were  inclined,  by  taste  or  acquirements,  to  take 
such  a  course. 

*  An  illustration  fell  tinder  my  notice  a  few  days  after  this  paragraph 
was  printed.  A  new  work  on  Geometrical  Drawing,  commissioned  by 
the  Committee  of  Council  on  Education,  was  published  by  Professor 
Bradley.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  in  it  a  single  word  concerning 
''Mechanical  Notation,"  not  even  the  very  simplest  portion  of  that 
science,  namely,  the  Art  of  Lettering  Drawings.  It  would  seem  im|X)6- 
sible  that  any  Prt/eucr  of  so  limited  a  subject  could  be  ignorant  of  the 
existence  of  such  an  important  addition  to  its  powers. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IGNORE  IT.  149 

I  shall  enumerate  a  few  instances. 

1.  In  1850,  the  Goyemment  appointed  a  Commission  to 
organize  the  Exhibition  of  1851. 

The  name  of  the  anthor  of  the  Economy  of  Manufadures 
was  not  thought  worthy  by  the  Groyemment  to  be  placed  on 
that  Commission. 

2.  In  1851,  the  Commissioners  of  the  International  Ex- 
hibition did  not  think  proper  to  exhibit  the  Difference 
Engine,  although  it  was  the  property  of  the  nation.  They 
were  as  insensible  to  the  greatest  mechanical  as  to,  what  has 
been  regarded  by  some,  the  greatest  intellectual  triumph  of 
their  country. 

3.  When  it  was  decided  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  haye  an  Exhibition  at  New  York,  they  sent  a 
Commissioner  to  Europe  to  make  arrangement  for  its  success. 
He  was  authorized  to  apply  for  the  loan  of  the  Difference 
Engine  for  a  few  months,  and  was  empowered  to  giye  any 
pecuniary  guarantee  which  might  be  required  for  its  safe 
return. 

That  Commissioner,  on  his  arriyal,  applied  to  me  on 
the  subject  I  explained  to  him  the  state  of  the  case,  and 
advised  him  to  apply  to  the  Goyemment,  whose  property  it 
was.  I  added  that,  if  his  application  was  successful,  I  would  at 
my  own  expense  put  the  machine  in  good  working  order,  and 
giye  him  eyery  information  requisite  for  its  safe  conyeyance 
and  use.    His  application  was,  however,  unsuccessfuL 

4.  In  1847,  Mr.  Dargan  nobly  undertook  at  a  vast  expense 
to  make  an  Exhibition  in  Dublin  to  aid  in  the  relief  of  his 
starving  countrymen.  It  was  thought  that  the  exhibition  of 
the  Difference  Engine  would  be  a  great  attraction.  I  was 
informed  at  the  time  that  an  application  was  made  to  the 
Goyemment  for  its  loan,  and  that  it  was  also  unsuccessful. 


150  MR.  GRAVATT  SUCCEEDS  IS 

5.  In  1855  the  great  Frakdi  Exhibition  occnrred.  Pre- 
Tioiislj  to  its  opening;  our  Goranmenl  sent  CommisBMmefB 
to  arrange  and  superintend  the  Engiwh  department 

These  Commi9BioD«8  reported  that  the  Engtiwh  ocmtribii- 
tion  was  remarkably  deficioit  in  what  in  France  are  termed 
"instmments  de  precision,''  a  term  which  includes  a  Taiietj 
of  instmments  for  scientific  porposesL  They  reccmunended 
that  **  a  Committee  dkHiId  be  appointed  who  coold  represent 
to  the  prodacers  of  Philosophical  Instmments  how  necessary 
it  was  that  they  flhoold,  upon  an  occasion  of  this  kind,  main- 
tain their  credit  in  the  eyes  of  Eorope."  The  Goyemment 
also  applied  to  the  Royal  Society  for  adyice ;  but  neither  did 
the  Boyal  Society  adrise,  nor  the  GoTemmait  propose,  to 
exhibit  the  Difference  Engine. 

6.  The  French  Exhibition  of  1855  was  remarkable  beyond 
all  former  ones  for  the  number  and  ingenuity  of  the  machines 
which  performed  arithmetical  operations. 

Pre-eminently  aboTe  all  others  stood  the  Swedish  Machine 
for  calculating  and  printing  mathematical  Tables.  It  is 
honourable  to  France  that  its  highest  reward  was  deservedly 
given  to  the  inventor  of  that  machine ;  whilst  it  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  the  English  Commissioners  appointed  to 
report  upon  the  French  Exhibition  omitted  all  notice  of  these 
Calculating  Machines. 

The  appearance  of  the  finished  portion  of  the  unfinished 
Difference  Engine  No.  1  at  the  Exhibition  of  1862  is  entirely 
due  to  Mr.  Gravatt  That  gentleman  had  a  few  years  before 
paid  great  attention  to  the  Swedish  Calculating  Engine  of 
M.  Scheutz,  and  was  the  main  cause  of  its  success  in  this 
country. 

Being  satisfied  that  it  was  possible  to  calculate  and  print 
all  Tables  by  machinery,  Mr.  Gravatt  became  convinced  that 


EXHIBITING  IT  IN  1862.  161 

the  time  must  arriye  when  no  Tables  would  ever  be  calculated 
or  printed  except  by  machine&  He  felt  that  it  was  of  great 
importance  to  accelerate  the  arriyal  of  that  period,  more 
especially  as  numerical  Tables,  which  are  at  present  the  most 
expensiye  kind  of  printing,  would  then  become  the  cheapest 

In  furtherance  of  this  idea,  Mr.  Gravatt  wrote  to  Dr.  Jelf, 
the  Principal  of  King's  College,  Somerset  House,  to  suggest 
that  the  Difference  Engine  of  Mr.  Babbage,  which  had  for  so 
many  years  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  museum, 
should  be  exhibited  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  18()2. 
He  at  the  same  time  offered  his  assistance  in  the  removal  and 
reinstatement  of  that  instrument. 

The  authorities  of  the  College  readily  acceded  to  this 
plan.  On  further  inquiry,  it  appeared  that  the  Difference 
Engine  belonged  to  the  Government,  and  was  only  deposited 
with  the  College.  It  was  then  found  necessary  to  make  an 
application  to  the  Treasury  for  permission  to  exhibit  it,  which 
was  accordingly  done  by  the  proper  authorities. 

The  Government  granted  the  permission,  and  referred  it  to 
the  Board  of  Works  to  superintend  its  placement  in  the 
building. 

The  Board  of  Works  sent  to  me  a  copy  of  the  correspond- 
ence relative  to  this  matter,  asking  my  opinion  whether 
any  danger  might  be  apprehended  for  the  safety  of  the 
machine  during  its  transport,  and  also  inquiring  whether  I 
had  any  other  suggestion  to  make  upon  the  subject. 

Knowing  the  great  strength  of  the  work,  I  immediately 
answered  that  I  did  not  anticipate  the  slightest  injury 
from  its  transport,  and  that,  imder  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Gravatt,  I  considered  it  might  be  removed  with  perfect 
safety.  The  only  suggestion  I  ventured  to  offer  was,  that  as 
the  Grovemment  possessed  in  the  department  of  the  Regis- 


152  SWEDISH  ENGINE  NOT  EXHIBITED. 

trar-General  a  copy,  made  by  English  workmen^  of  the 
Swedish  Difference  Engine,  that  it  should  be  exhibited  by 
the  side  of  mine :  and  that  both  the  Engines  should  be  kept 
constantly  working  with  a  very  slow  motion. 

By  a  subsequent  communication  I  was  informed  that  the 
Swedish  Machine  could  not  be  exhibited,  because  it  was  then 
in  constant  use,  computing  certain  Tables  relating  to  the 
values  of  lives,  I  regretted  this  very  much.  I  had  intended 
to  alter  the  handle  x)f  my  own  Engine  in  order  to  make  it 
moveable  circularly  by  the  same  catgut  which  I  had  hoped 
might  have  driven  both.  The  Tables  which  the  Swedish 
Machine  was  employed  in  printing  were  not  of  any  pressing 
necessity,  and  their  execution  could,  upon  such  an  occasion, 
have  been  postponed  for  a  few  months  vrithout  loss  or  incon- 
venience. 

Besides,  if  the  Swedish  Engine  had,  as  I  proposed,  been 
placed  at  work,  its  superintendent  might  have  continued  his 
table-making  with  but  little  delay,  and  the  public  would  have 
been  highly  gratified  by  the  sight. 

He  could  also  have  given  information  to  the  public  by 
occasional  explanations  of  its  principles ;  thus  might  Her 
Majesty's  Commissioners  have  gratified  thousands  of  her 
subjects  who  came,  with  intense  curiosity,  prepared  to  be 
pleased  and  instructed,  and  whom  they  sent  away  amazed 
and  disappointed. 

From  the  experience  I  had  during  the  first  week  of  the 
Exhibition,  I  am  convinced  that  if  a  fit  place  had  been  pro- 
vided for  the  two  Calculating  Machines,  so  that  the  public 
might  have  seen  them  both  in  constant  but  slow  motion,  and  if 
the  superintendent  had  occasionally  given  a  short  explanation 
of  the  principles  on  which  they  acted,  they  would  have  been 
one  of  the  greatest  attractions  within  the  building. 


ENGUSH  ENGINE  POKED  INTO  A  HOLK  153 

On  Mr.  Gravatt  applying  to  the  Commissioners  for  space, 
it  was  stated  that  the  Engine  must  be  placed  amongst  philo- 
sophical instruments,  Class  XTTT. 

The  only  place  oflTered  for  its  reception  was  a  small  hole, 
4  feet  4  inches  in  front  by  5  feet  deep.  On  one  side  of  this 
'was  the  only  passage  to  the  office  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  class.  The  opposite  side  was  occupied  by  a  glass 
case  in  which  I  placed  specimens  of  the  separate  parts  of 
the  unfinished  engine.  These,  although  executed  by  English 
workmen  above  thirty  years  ago,  were  yet,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  most  eminent  engineers,  unsurpassed  by  any  work 
the  building  of  1862  contained.  The  back  of  this  recess 
was  closed  in  and  dark,  and  only  allowed  a  space  on  the  wall 
of  about  five  feet  by  four,  on  which  to  place  the  whole  of  the 
drawings  and  illustrations  of  the  Difference  Engine.  Close 
above  the  top  of  the  machine  was  a  flat  roof,  which  deprived 
tlie  drawings  and  the  work  itself  of  much  light 

The  public  at  first  flocked  to  it :  but  it  was  so  placed  that 
only  three  persons  could  conveniently  see  it  at  the  same  time. 
When  Mr.  Gravatt  kindly  explained  and  set  it  in  motion,  he 
was  continually  interrupted  by  the  necessity  of  moving  away  in 
order  to  allow  access  to  the  numerous  persons  whose  business 
called  them  to  the  superintendent's  office.  At  a  very  early 
period  various  representations  were  made  to  the  Commis- 
sioners by  the  Jury,  the  superintendent,  and  very  strongly  by 
the  press,  of  the  necessity  of  having  some  qualified  person  to 
explain  the  machine  to  the  public.  I  was  continually  in- 
formed by  the  attendants  that  hundreds  of  persons  had,  during 
my  absence  asked,  when  they  could  get  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  machine  in  motion. 

Admiring  the  earnestness  of  purpose  and  the  sagacity  with 
which  Mr.  Gravatt  had  steadily  followed  out  the  convictions  of 


154  THE  LOAN  OF  OTHER 

his  own  mind  relative  to  the  aboh'tion  of  all  tables  except 
those  made  and  stereotyped  by  machinery,  I  offered  all  the 
assistance  in  my  power  to  accelerate  the  accomplishment  of 
his  task. 

I  lent  him  for  exhibition    numerous  specimens  of  the 
unfinished  portions  of  the  Difference  Engine  No.  1.     These  I ' 
had  purchased  on  the  determination  of  the  Government  to 
abandon  its  construction  in  1842. 

I  proposed  also  to  lend  him  the  Mechanical  Notations  of 
the  Difference  Engine,  which  had  been  made  at  my  own 
expense,  and  were  finished  by  myseK  and  my  eldest  son, 
Mr.  B.  Herschel  Babbage. 

I  had  had  several  applications  from  foreigners*  for  some 
account  of  my  system  of  Mechanical  Notation,  and  great 
desire  was  frequently  expressed  to  see  the  illustrations  of  the 
method  itself,  and  of  its  various  applications. 

These,  however,  were  so  extensive  that  it  was  impossible, 
without  very  great  inconvenience,  to  exhibit  them  even  in 
my  own  house. 

I  therefore  wrote  to  Mr.  Gravatt  to  offer  him  the  loan  of 
the  following  property  for  the  Exhibition : — 

1.  A  small  Calculating  Machine  of  the  simplest  order  for 

adding  together  any  number  of  separate  sums  of 
money,  provided  the  total  was  under  100,000/.,  by 
Sir  Samuel  Morland.     1666. 

2.  A  very  complete   and  well-executed    Machine  for 

answering  all  questions  in  plane  trigonometry,  by 
Sir  Samuel  Morland.     1663. 

*  One  object  of  the  mission  of  Professor  Bolzani  was,  to  take  back  with 
him  to'  Russia  snch  an  account  of  the  Mechanical  Notation  as  might  facili- 
tate its  teaching  in  the  Russian  Universities.  I  regret  that  it  was  entirely 
out  of  my  power  to  assist  him. 


CALCULATING  MACHINES  OFFERED.  166 

3.  An  original  set  of  Napier's  bones. 

4.  A  small  Arithmetical  Machine,  by  Viscount  Mahon, 

afterwards  Earl  Stanhope.     Without  date. 

5.  A  larger  Machine,  to  add,  subtract,  multiply,  and 

divide,  by  Viscount  Mahon.     1775. 

6.  Another  similar  Machine,  of  a  somewhat  different 

construction,  for  the  same  operations,  by  Viscount 
Mahon.    1777. 

7.  A  small  Difference  Engine,  made  in  London,  in  conse- 

quence of  its  author  having  read  Dr.  Lardner*s 
article  in  the  "  Edinburgh  Review  "  of  July,  1834, 
No.  CXX. 


List  of  Mechanical  NotaHom  proposed  to  be  Lent  for  the 
Exhibition. 

1.  All  the  drawings  explaining  the  principles .  of  the 

Mechanical  Notation. 

2.  The  complete  Mechanical  Notations  of  the  Swedish 

Calculating  Engine  of  M.  Scheutz. 
These  latter  drawings  had  been  made  and  used  by 
my  youngest  son.  Major  Henry  P.  Babbage,  now 
resident  in  India,  in  explaining  the  principles 
of  the  Mechanical  Notation  at  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  at  Glasgow,  and  after- 
wards in  London,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Institu- 
tion of  Civil  Engineers.* 

3.  The  Mechanical  Notations  of  the  Difference  Engine 

No.  1. 

*  See  Proceedings  of  Britisb  Association  at  Glasgow,  1855,  p.  203 ;  also 
Minutes  of  Prooeedingi  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  vol.  xv.,  1866. 


156  LOAN  OF  NOTATIONS  OFFERED. 

These  had  been  made  at  my  own  expense,  and 
were  finished  by  myself  and  my  eldest,  son, 
Mr.  B.  Herschel  Babbage,  now  resident  in 
South  Australia. 

4.  A  complete  set  of  the  drawings  of  the  Difference 

Engine  No.*  2,  for  calculating  and  printing  tables, 
with  seven  orders  of  differences,  and  thirty  places  of 
figures.    Finished  in  1849. 

5.  A  complete  set  of  the  Notations  necessary  for  the 

explanation  and  demonstration  of  Difference  Engine 
No.  2,  finished  in  1849. 

These  drawings  and  notations  would  have  required  for  their  * 
exhibition  about  seven  or  eight  hundred  square  feet  of  wall. 
My  letter  to  Mr.  Gravatt  was  forwarded  to  the  Commissioners 
with  his  own  application  for  space  to  exhibit  them.  The 
Commissioners  declined  this  offer ;  yet  during  the  first  six 
weeks  of  the  Exhibition  there  was  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  Difference  Engine  an  empty  space  of  wall  large  enough  for 
the  greater  part  of  these  instructive  diagrams.  This  portion 
of  wall  was  afterwards  filled  up  by  a  vast  oil-cloth.  Other 
large  portions  of  wall,  to  the  amount  of  thousands  of  square 
feet,  were  given  up  to  other  oil-cloths,  and  to  numberless 
carpets.  It  is  evident  the  Boyal  Commissioners  were  much 
better  qualified  to  judge  of  furniture  for  the  feet  than  of  fur- 
niture for  the  head. 

I  was  myself  frequently  asked  why  I  did  not  employ  a 
person  to  explain  the  Difference  Engine.  In  reply  to  some 
of  my  friends,  I  inquired  whether,  when  they  purchased  a 
carriage,  they  expected  the  builder  to  pay  the  wages  of  their 
coachman. 

But  my  greatest  difficulty  was  with  foreigners;  no  ex- 
planation I  could  devise,  and  I  tried  many,  appeared  at  all 


FOREIGN  VISITORS  PUZZLED.  167 

to  satisfy  their  minds.  The  thing  seemed  to  them  entirely 
incomprehensible. 

That  the  nation  possessing  the  greatest  military  and  com- 
mercial marine  in  the  world — ^the  nation  which  had  spent  so 
much  in  endeavooring  to  render  perfect  the  means  of  finding 
the  longitude — ^which  had  recently  caused  to  be  computed 
and  published  at  considerable  expense  an  entirely  new  set  qf 
lunar  Tables  should  not  have  availed  itself  cU  any  cod  of 
mechanical  means  of  computing  and  stereotyping  such  Tables, 
seemed  entirely  beyond  their  comprehension. 

At  last  they  asked  me  whether  the  Commissioners  were 
betes.  I  assured  them  that  the  only  one  with  whom  I  was 
personally  acquainted  certainly  was  not. 

When  hard  pressed  by  difficult  questions,  I  thought  it  my 
duty  as  an  Englishman  to  save  my  country's  character,  eveii 
at  the  expense  of  my  own.  So  on  one  occasion  I  suggested 
to  my  unsatisfied  friends  that  Commissioners  were  usually 
selected  from  the  highest  class  of  society,  and  that  possibly 
four  out  of  five  had  never  heard  of  my  nama 

But  here  again  my  generous  efforts  to  save  the  character 
of  my  country  and  its  Commissioners  entirely  failed.  Several 
of  my  foreign  friends  had  known  me  in  their  own  homes, 
and  had  seen  the  estimation  in  which  1  was  held  by  their 
own  countrymen  and  by  their  own  sovereign.  These  were 
still  more  astonished. 

On  another  occasion  an  anecdote  was  quoted  against  me 
to  prove  that  my  name  was  well  known  even  in  China.  It 
may,  perhaps,  amuse  the  reader.  A  short  time  after  the 
arrival  of  Count  Strzelecki  in  England,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting^him  at  the  table  of  a  common  friend.  Many  in- 
quiries were  made  relative  to  his  residence  in  China.  Much 
interest  was  expressed  by  several  of  the  party  to  learn  on 


158  CHINESE  INQUIRE  ABOUT  IT. 

what  subject  the  Chinese  were  most  anxious  to  have  informa- 
tion* Count  Strzelecki  told  them  that  the  subject  of  most 
frequent  inquiry  was  Babbage's  Calculating  Machine.  On 
being  further  asked  as  to  the  nature  of  the  inquiries,  he 
said  they  were  most  anxious  to  know  whether  it  would  go 
into  the  pocket.  Our  host  now  introduced  me  to  Count 
Strzeleckiy  opposite  to  whom  I  was  then  sitting.  After  ex- 
pressing my  pleasure  at  the  introduction,  I  told  the  Count 
that  he  might  safely  assure  his  friends  in  the  Celestial 
Empire  that  it  was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  an  out-^f-poeket 
machine. 

At  last  the  Commissioners  were  moved,  not  to  supply  the 
deficiency  themselves,  but  to  address  the  Government,  to 
whom  the  Difference  Engine  belonged,  to  send  somebody  to 
explain  it  I  received  a  communication  from  the  Board  of 
Works,  inquiring  whether  I  could  make  any  suggestions  for 
getting  over  this  difficulty.  I  immediately  made  inquiries, 
and  found  a  person  who  formerly  had  been  my  amanu- 
ensis, and  had,  under  my  direction,  worked  out  many  most 
intricate  problems.  He  possessed  very  considerable  know- 
ledge of  mathematics,  and  was  willing,  for  the  moderate  re- 
muneration of  six  shillings  a  day,  to  be  present  daily  during 
nine  hours  to  explain  the  Difference  Engine. 

I  immediately  sent  this  information  to  the  Board  of  Works, 
with  the  name  and  address  of  the  person  I  recommended. 
This,  I  have  little  doubt,  was  directly  communicated  to  the 
Commissioners;  but  they  did  not  avail  themselves  of  his 
services. 

It  is  difficult,  upon  any  principle,  to  explain  the  conduct  of 
the  Eoyal  Commissioners  of  the  Exhibition  of  1862.  They 
were  appointed  by  the  Government,  yet  when  the  Government 
itself  became  an  exhibitor,  and  sent  for  exhibition  a  Differ- 


COMMISSIONERS  INEXPLICABLE.  159 

ence  Engine,  the  property  of  the  nation,  these  Commissioners 
placed  it  in  a  9maU  hole  in  a  dark  comer,  where  it  conld, 
with  some  diflScolty,  be  seen  by  six  people  at  the  same  time. 

No  remonstrance  was  of  the  slightest  avail ;  it  was  **  Hob- 
son's  choice,"  that  or  nona  It  was  represented  that  all  other 
space  was  occnpied. 

A  trophy  of  children's  toys,  whose  merits,  it  is  true^  the 
Commissioners  were  somewhat  more  competent  to  appre- 
ciate, filled  one  of  the  most  prominent  positions  in  the  build- 
ing. On  the  other  hand,  a  trophy  of  the  workmanship  of 
English  engineers,  executed  by  machine  tools  thirty  years 
before,  and  admitted  by  the  best  judges  to  be  unsurpassed 
by  any  rival,  was  placed  in  a  position  not  very  inappropriate 
for  the  authoritieB  themselves  who  condemned  it  to  that 
locality. 

But  no  hired  aristocratic*  agent  was  employed  to  excite 
-the  slumbering  perceptions  of  the  Commissioners,  who  might 
have  secured  a  fieivourable  position  for  the  Difference  Engine, 
by  practising  on  their  good  nature,  or  by  imposing  upon 
their  imbecility. 

It  has  been  urged,  in  extenuation  of  the  conduct  of  these 
Commissioners,  that  their  duty  as  guardians  of  the  funds 
intrusted  to  them,  and  of  the  interests  of  the  Guarantors, 
compelled  them  to  practise  a  rigid  economy. 

Rigid  economy  is  to  be  respected  only  when  it  is  under  the 
control  of  judgment,  not  of  fieivouritism.  If  the  machinery 
for  making  arithmetical  calculations  which  was  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Commissioners  had  been  properly  ar- 
ranged, it  might  have  been  made  at  once  a  source  of  high 
gratification  to  the  public  and  even  of  projU  to  the  Exhibi- 
tion. 

♦  See  "  The  Timeb,''  19  Jan.,  1863,  aiid  claewherc. 


160  A  COURT  FOB  CALCULATING  MACHINES. 

Such  a  group  of  CalculatiDg  Machines  might  have  been 
placed  by  themselves  in  a  small  court  capable  of  holding  a 
limited  number  of  persons.  Bound  the  walls  of  this  court 
might  have  been  hung  the  drawings  I  had  offered  to  lend, 
containing  the  whole  of  those  necessary  for  the  Difference 
Engine  No.  2,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  illustrations  for 
the  explanation  of  the  Mechanical  Notation.  The  Swedish 
Difference  Engine  and  my  own  might  have  been  slowly 
making  calculations  during  the  whole  day. 

This  court  should  have  been  open  to  the  public  generally, 
except  at  two  or  three  periods  of  half  an  hour  each,  during 
which  it  should  have  been  accessible  only  to  those  who  had 
previously  secured  tickets  at  a  shilling  apiece. 

During  each  half  hour  the  person  whom  I  had  recom- 
mended to  the  Commissioners  might  have  given  a  short 
popular  explanation  of  the  subject 

This  attraction  might  have  been  still  further  increased/i 
and  additional  profit  made,  if  a  single  sheet  of  paper  had 
been  printed  containing  a  woodcut  of  the  Swedish  Machine, 
an  impression  from  a  page  of  the  Tables  computed  and  stereo- 
typed by  it  at  Somerset  House,  and  also  an  impression  from 
a  stereotype  plate  of  the  Difference  Engine  exhibited  by  the 
Government. 

A  plate  of  the  Swedish  Machine  is  in  existence  In  London. 
I  am  confident  that,  for  such  a  purpose,  I  could  have  pro- 
cured the  loan  of  it  for  the  Commissioners,  and  I  would  wil- 
lingly have  supplied  them  with  the  stereotype  plate  from 
which  the  frontispage  of  the  present  volume  was  printed,  toge- 
ther with  from  ten  to  twenty  lines  of  necessary  explanation. 

These  illustrations  of  machinery  used  for  computing  and 
printing  Tables  might  have  been  put  up  into  packets  of 
dozens  and  half  doasens,  and  also  have  been  sold  in  single 


AN  ASSISTANT  EXPLAINING.  161 

sheets  at  the  rate  of  one  penny  each  copy.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  the  sale  of  them  would  have  been  very  considerable. 
As  it  was,  I  found  the  woodcut  representing  the  Difference 
Engine  No.  1  in  great  request,  and  during  the  exhibition 
I  had  numberless  applications  for  it ;  having  given  away  my 
whole  stock  of  about  800  copies. 

The  calculating  court  might  have  held  comfortably  from 
sixty  to  eighty  seats.  Each  lecture  would  have  produced 
say  31.  This  being  repeated  three  times  each  day,  together 
with  the  sale  of  the  woodcuts,  would  have  produced  about 
10/.  per  day,  out  of  which  the  Commissioners  would  have 
had  six  shillings  per  day  to  pay  the  assistant  who  gave  the 
required  explanations. 

If  the  dignity  of  the  Commissioners  would  not  permit  them 
to  make  money  by  such  means,  they  might  have  announced 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  tickets  would  be  given  to  the  dis- 
tressed population  of  the  Manchester  district,  and  there  would* 
tlien  have  been  crowds  of  visitors. 

But  the  rigid  economy  of  the  Commissioners,  who  refused 
to  expend  six  shillings  a  day  for  an  attendant^  although  it 
would  most  probably  have  produced  a  return  of  several  hun- 
dred pounds,  was  entirely  laid  aside  when  their  patronage 
was  to  be  extended  to  a  brother  official. 

Captain  Fowke,  an  officer  of  engineers,  whose  high  order 
of  architectural  talent  became  afterwards  so  well  known  to 
the  public,  and  whose  whole  time  and  services  were  retained 
and  paid  for  by  the  country,  was  employed  to  make  a  design 
for  the  Exhibition  Building. 

The  Commissioners  approved  of  this  design,  which  com- 
prised two  lofty  domes,  uniting  in  themselves  the  threefold 
inconvenience  of  being  ugly,  useless,  and  expensive.  They 
then  proceeded  to  pay  him  five  thousand  pounds  for  the  job. 


162  THE  COMMISSIONERS  DO  A  JOB. 

This  system  of  awarding  large  sums  of  money  to  certain 
favoured  public  officers  who  are  already  paid  for  their  ser- 
vices by  liberal  salaries  seems  to  be  a  growing  evil.  At  the 
period  of  the  Irish  famine  the  under-secretary  of  the  Treasury 
condescended  to  accept  2,50021  out  of  the  fund  raised  to  save 
a  famished  nation.  Some  inquiries,  even  recently,  were 
occasionally  made  whether  any  similar  deduction  will  be 
allowed  from  the  liberal  contributions  to  the  sufferers  by  the 
cotton  famine. 

The  question  was  raised  and  the  practice  reprobated  in 
the  House  of  Commons  by  men  of  opposite  party  politics. 
Mr.  Gladstone  remarked : — 

'^  If  there  was  one  rule  connected  with  the  public  service 
"  which  more  than  any  other  ought  to  be  scrupulously  ob- 
'^  served,  it  was  this,  that  the  salary  of  a  public  officer,  more 
"  especially  if  he  were  of  high  rank,  ought  to  cover  all  the 
''  services  he  might  be  called  upon  to  render.  Any  departure 
**  from  this  rule  must  be  dangerous."  Hansard,  voL  101, 
"  p.  138,  1848.  Supply,  14  Aug.  1848.  See  also  "The 
"  Exposition  of  1851,"  8va,  p.  217. 

The  following  paragraph  appeared  in  "  The  Times  "♦  a 
short  time  since,  under  the  head  Naval  Intelligence : — 

^  A  reply  has  been  received  to  the  memorial  transmitted 
^  to  the  Admiralty  some  few  days  since  from  the  inspectors 
^'  employed  on  the  iron  frigate  *  Achilles,'  building  at  Chatham 
''  dockyard,  requesting  that  they  may  be  placed  on  the  same 
^  footing  as  regards  increased  pay  as  the  junior  officers  and 
"  mechanics  working  on  the  iron  frigate  for  the  additional 
"  number  of  hours  they  are  employed  in  the  dockyard.  The 
**  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  intimate  that  they  cannot  accede  to 
"  the  wishes  of  the  memorialists,  who  are  reminded  that^  as 
*  About  the  20th  of  May,  1863. 


THE  ADMIRALTY  REFUSE.  163 

'^  salaried  officers  of  the  establishment,  the  whole  of  their  time 
'*  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  Admiralty.  This  decision  has  caused 
'*  considerable  dissatisfaction." 

It  appears  that  the  Admiralty  wisely  adopted  the  principle 
enunciated  by  Mr.  Gladstone. 

It  may,  however,  not  unreasonably  have  caused  dissatisfac- 
tion to  those  who  had  no  interest  to  back  them  on  finding 
that  such  large  sums  are  pocketed  by  those  who  are  blessed 
with  influential  friends  in  high  quarters. 

If  the  Commissioners  had  really  wished  to  have  obtained  a 
suitable  building  at  a  fair  price  their  course  was  simple  and 
obvious.  They  need  only  have  stated  the  nature  and  amount 
of  accommodation  required,  and  then  have  selected  half  a 
dozen  of  the  most  eminent  firms  amongst  our  great  con- 
tractors, who  would  each  have  given  them  an  estimate  of  the 
plans  they  respectively  suggested. 

The  Commissioners  might  have  made  it  one  of  the  con- 
ditions that  they  should  not  be  absolutely  bound  to  give  the 
contract  to  the  author  of  the  plan  accepted.  But  in  case  of 
not  employing  him  a  sum  previously  stipulated  should  have 
been  assigned  for  the  use  of  the  design. 

By  such  means  they  would  have  had  a  choice  of  various 
plans,  and  if  those  plans  had,  previously  to  the  decision  of 
the  Commissioners,  been  publicly  exhibited  for  a  few  weeks, 
they  might  have  been  enlightened  by  public  criticism.  Such 
a  course  would  have  prevented  the  gigantic  job  they  after- 
wards perpetrated.  It  could  therefore  find  no  support  from 
the  Commissioners. 

The  present  Commissioners,  however,  are  fit  successors  to 
those  who  in  1851  ignored  the  existence  of  the  author  of  the 
"  Economy  of  Manufactures  "  and  his  inventions.  They  seem 
to  have  been  deluded  into  the  belief  that  they  possessed 

m2 


Ifi4  CONSOT^TION  FOR  THE  COMMISSIONERS. 

the  strength,  as  well  as  the  desire,  quietly  to  strangle,  the 
Difference  Engine. 

It  would  be  idle  to  break  sucli  butterflies  upon  its  matc*hleas 
wheels,  or  to  give  permanence  to  such  names  by  reflecting 
them  from  its  diamond-graven  plates.*  Though  the  steam- 
hammer  can  crack  the  coating  without  injuring  the  kernel  of 
the  filbert  it  drops  upon — the  admirable  precision  of  its 
gigantic  power  could  never  be  demonstrated  by  exliausting 
its  energy  upon  an  empty  nut-shell. 

Peace,  then,  to  their  memory,  aptly  enshrined  in  unknown 
characters  within  the  penetralia  of  the  temple  of  oblivion. 

These  celebrities  may  there  at  last  console  themselves  in 
the  enjoyment  of  one  enviable  privilege  denied  to  them 
during  their  earthly  career — exemption  from  the  daily  con- 
sciousness of  being  ^^ found  outJ' 

It  is,  however,  not  quite  impossible,  although  deciphering 
is  a  brilliant  art,  that  one  or  other  of  them  may  have  heard 
of  the  dread  power  of  the  decipherer.  Having  myself  had 
some  slight  acquaintance  with  that  fascinating  pursuit,  it 
gives  me  real  pleasure  to  relieve  them  from  this  very  natural 
fear  by  assuring  them  that  not  even  the  most  juvenile 
decipherer  could  be  so  stupid  as  to  apply  himself  to  the  in- 
terpretation of — characters  known  to  be  meaningle&s. 

Yet  there  is  one  name  amongst,  but  not  of  them — a  fellow- 
worshipper  with  myself  at  far  other  fanes,  whose  hands,  like 
mine,  have  wielded  the  hammer,  and  whose  pen,  like  mine, 
has  endeavoured  to  communicate  faithfully  to  his  fellow-men 

*  For  the  purpose  of  testing  the  steadiness  and  truth  of  the  tools  em- 
ployed in  forming  the  gun-metal  plates,  I  had  some  dozen  of  them  tamed 
with  a  diamond  point  The  perfect  equality  of  its  cut  caused  the  reflected 
light  to  be  resolved  into  those  beautiful  images  pointed  out  by  Frauenbofer, 
and  also  so  much  admired  in  the  celebrated  gold  buttons  produced  by  the 
late  Mr.  Barton,  the  Comptroller  of  the  Mint. 


MR.  GRAVATT  EXPLAINS  THE  ENGINE.  166 

the  measure  of  those  truths  he  has  himself  laboriously 
extracted  from  the  material  world.  With  such  endowments, 
it  is  impossible  that  he  could  have  had  any  cognizance  of  this 
part  of  the  proceedings  of  his  colleagues.* 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Exhibition,  Mr.  Gravatt  was 
constantly  present,  and  was  so  kind  as  to  explain  to  maoy 
anxious  inquirers  the  nature  and  uses  of  the  Difference 
Engine.  This,  however,  interfered  so  much  with  his  profes- 
sional engagements  as  a  Civil  Engineer,  that  it  would  have 
been  unreasonable  to  have  expected  its  continuance.  In  &ct, 
as  not  above  half  a  dozen  spectators  could  see  the  machine  at 
once,  it  was  a  great  sacrifice  of  valuable  time  for  a  very  small 
result 

During  the  early  part  of  my  own  examination  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion I  had  many  opportunities  of  conversing  with  experienced 
workmen,  well  qualified  to  appreciate  the  workmanship  of  the 
Difference  Engine;  these  I  frequently  accompanied  to  its 
narrow  cell,  and  pointed  out  to  them  its  use,  as  well  as  the 
means  by  which  its  various  parts  had  received  their  destined 
form. 

Occasionally  also  I  explained  it  to  some  few  of  my  personal 
friends.  When  Mr.  Gravatt  or  myself  were  thus  engaged, 
a  considerable  crowd  was  often  collected,  who  were  anxious 
to  hear  about,  although  they  could  not  see,  the  Ei^ne 
itself. 

Upon  one  of  these  occasions  I  was  insulted  by  impertinent 
questions  conveyed  in  a  loud  voice  from  a  person  at  a  distance 
in  tlie  crowd.  My  taste  for  music,  and  especially  for  organs,  was 
questioned.  I  was  charitable  enough  to  suppose  that  this  was 
an  exceptional  case ;  but  in  less  than  a  week  another  instance 

*  I  have  sinoc  learnt,  with  real  satisfaction,  that  my  friend,  Mr.  Fairbairu, 
was  nU  a  member  of  tliat  iucom|«tcut  Commission. 


166  MR.  WILMOT  BUXTON 

occurred.  After  this  experience,  of  course,  I  seldom  went 
near  the  Difference  Engine.  Mr.  Gravatt  who  had  gene- 
rously sacrificed  a  considerable  portion  of  his  valuable  time 
for  the  information  and  instruction  of  the  public  was  now 
imperatively  called  away  by  professional  engagements,  and 
the  public  had  no  information  whatever  upon  a  subject  on 
which  it  was  really  very  anxious  to  be  instructed. 

Fortunately,  however,  the  Exhibition  took  place  during  the 
long  vacation ;  and  a  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  Wilmot  Buxton,  of 
the  Chancery  Bar,  very  frequently  accompanied  me  in  my 
visits.  Possessing  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  mathematical 
principles  embodied  in  the  mechanism,  I  had  frequently 
pointed  out  to  him  its  nature  and  relations.  These  I  soon 
found  he  so  well  apprehended  that  I  felt  justified  in  intrusting 
him  with  one  of  my  keys  of  the  machine,  in  order  that  he 
might  have  access  to  it  without  the  necessity  of  my  presence. 

Whenever  he  opened  it  for  his  own  satisfaction  or  for  the 
instruction  of  his  friends,  he  was  speedily  surrounded  by  a 
far  larger  portion  of  the  public  than  could  possibly  see  it>  but 
who  were  still  attracted  by  his  lucid  oral  explanation. 

It  was  fortunate  for  many  of  the  visitors  to  the  Exhibition 
that  this  occurred,  for  the  demands  on  his  time,  when  present, 
were  incessant,  and  hundreds  thus  acquired  from  his  explana- 
tions a  popular  view  of  the  subject. 

After  the  close  of  the  Exhibition,  Mr.  Gravatt  and  myself 
attended  to  prepare  the  Difference  Engine  for  its  return  to 
the  Museum  of  King's  College.  To  our  great  astonishment, 
we  found  tliat  it  had  already  been  removed  to  tlie  Museum  at 
South  Kensington.  Not  only  the  Difference  Engine  itself, 
but  also  the  illustrations  and  all  the  unfinished  portions  of 
exquisite  workmanship  which  I  had  lent  to  the  Exhibition  for 
its  explanation,  were  gone. 


EXPLAINS  THE  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE.  167 

On  Mr.  Grayatt  appl3ring  to  the  Board  of  Works,  it  was 
stated  that  the  Difference  Engine  itself  had  been  placed  in 
the  Kensington  Mosenm  because  the  authorities  of  King's 
College  had  declined  receiving  it,  and  immediate  instructions 
were  of  course  given  for  the  restoration  of  my  own  property. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  LATE  PRINCE  CONSORT. 


"  Suam  cuiqne." 

Connt  Mensdorf  mentions  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  his  wish  to  see  the 
DifiTerenoe  Engine — Aii  appointment  made — Prince  Albert  expresses 
his  intention  of  accompanying  his  uncle — Time  of  appointment  altered — 
Their  visit,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington — Portrait  of 
Jacquard — Anecdote  of  Wilkie — Afghanistan  arms — Extract  from  the 
Author's  work  on  the  Exhibition  of  18G2. 

I  HAVE  had  one  opportunity  of  fairly  estimating  some 
portion  of  the  character  of  the  hie  justly-lamented  Prince 
Consort ;  to  this  I  will  now  venture  to  allude. 

In  1842  Count  Mensdorf  visited  London.  A  few  days 
after  I  had  a  note  from  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington,  in 
which  he  informed  me  that  on  the  previous  evening  he  had 
met  at  the  palace  the  Queen's  uncle,  Count  Mensdorf,  who 
had  expressed  to  the  Duke  his  wish  to  see  my  Calculating 
Engine.  The  Duke  then  inquired  whether  I  could  conve- 
niently make  some  arrangement  for  that  purpose.  I  immo- 
diately  ^Tote  to  the  Duke,  that  if  he  would  appoint  an  hour 
on  any  morning  of  the  ensm'ng  week,  I  should  Lave  great 
pleasure  in  showing  and  explaining  the  Difference  Engine  to 
Count  Mensdorf.  It  was  afterwards  arranged  that  on  the  fol- 
lowing Tuesday,  at  two  o'clock.  Count  Menstlorf  and  the 
Duke  should  pay  me  a  visit  in  Dorset  Street.     On  Monday 


THE  WOVEN  PORTRAIT.  169 

morning  I  received  another  note  fix)ra  the  Duke,  informing 
me  that  Prince  Albert  had  expressed  his  intention  to  accom- 
pany Count  Mensdorf  in  the  proposed  visit,  and  that  it  would 
be  more  convenient  if  the  hour  were  changed  to  one  instead 
of  two  o'clock. 

I  must  freely  admit  that  I  did  not  greatly  rejoice  at  this 
addition  to  the  party.  I  resolved,  however,  strictly  to  perform 
the  duties  thus  thrown  upon  me  as  a  host,  as  well  as  all  those 
to  which  Prince  Albert  was  entitled  by  his  elevated  position. 

Before  I  took  the  Prince  into  the  iire-proof  building  in 
which  the  DiflFerence  Engine  was  then  deposited,  I  asked 
his  Koyal  Highness  to  allow  me  to  show  him  a  portrait  of 
Jacquard,  which  was  at  that  time  hanging  up  in  my  drawing- 
room,  as  it  would  greatly  assist  in  explaining  the  nature  of 
Calculating  Machines. 

When  we  had  arrived  in  front  of  the  portrait,  I  pointed  it 
out  as  the  object  to  which  I  solicited  the  Prince's  attention. 
"  Oh !  that  engraving  T  remarked  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
**  No !"  said  Prince  Albert  to  the  Duke ;  "  it  is  not  an  en- 
graving." I  felt  for  a  moment  very  great  surprise ;  but  this 
was  changed  into  a  much  more  agreeable  feeling,  when  the 
Prince  instantly  added,  "  I  have  seen  it  before."  I  felt  at 
once  that  the  Prince  was  a  "  good  man  and  true,"  and  I 
resolved  that  I  would  not  confine  myself  to  the  rigid  rules  of 
etiquette,  but  that  I  would  help  him  with  all  my  heart 
in  whatever  line  his  inquiries  might  be  directed. 

The  portrait  of  Jacquard  was,  in  fact,  a  sheet  of  woven  silk, 
framed  and  glazed,  but  looking  so  perfectly  like  an  en- 
graving, that  it  had  been  mist^en  for  such  by  two  members 
of  the  Royal  Academy. 

A  short  time  after  I  became  possessed  of  this  beautiful 
work  of  art,  I  met  Wilkie,  and  invited  him  to  come  and  see 


170  WILKIE'S  CONJECTURE. 

my  recent  acquisition.  He  called  on  me  one  morning.  I 
placed  him  at  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  portrait,  which 
he  admired  greatly.  I  then  asked  him  what  he  thought  it 
was.  He  answered,  "  An  engraving !"  On  which  I  asked, 
"  Of  what  kind  ?"  To  this  he  replied,  "  Line-engraving,  to 
be  sure !"  I  drew  him  a  little  nearer.  He  then  mentioned 
another  style  of  engraving.  At  last,  having  placed  Wilkie 
close  to  the  portrait,  he  said,  after  a  considerable  pause, ''  Can 
it  be  lithography  ?" 

A  splendid  collection  of  arms  from  Afghanistan,  recently 
sent  to  me  from  India  by  Sir  Edward  Ryan,  was  lying  on  the 
tables  in  one  of  the  rooms  we  passed  through.    These  had 
;|  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Prince,  and  on  returning,  the 

I  whole  party  examined  them  with  the  greatest  interest. 

I  now  conducted  my  visitors  to  the  fire-proof  building  in 
which  the  Diflference  Engine  was  placed.  Prince  Albert  was, 
I  understood,  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  higher  depart- 
ments of  mathematical  science  to  appreciate  the  influence  of 
such  an  instrument  on  its  future  progress.  But  the  circum- 
!  stance  that  charmed  me  was — ^his  bearing  towards  his  uncle» 

I  Count  Mensdorf.     It  was  perfectly  natural :  it  could  be  felt, 

i  admired,  and  honoured — but  not  described, 

j  I  When  the  sad  fact  of  the  nation's  loss  became  known  to 

'  I  me,  I  immediately  reverted  with  some  anxiety  to  a  work  I 

i  had  published  ten  years  before  on  the  Exhibition  of  1851.     I 

(feared  lest,  in  speaking  of  that  event,  I  might  have  com* 
:  mitted  some  injustice,  whilst  I  was  indignant  at  that  under 

j  which  I  was  myself  sufifering.      I  willingly  reprint  it  here 

f  .  because  it  contained  no  empty  words  of  flattery  ;  but  analysed 

the  reasons  which  commanded  our  respect 

"  The  merit  of  the  original  conception  of  the  present  Expo- 


PENALTIES  OF  EXALTED  STATION.  171 

sition  [1851]  is  insigiiificant  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
e£fort8  by  which  it  was  carried  out^  and  with  the  importance 
of  its  practical  results. 

^  To  have  seen  from  afar  its  effects  on  the  improyement, 
the  wealth,  and  the  happiness  of  the  people — ^to  have  seized 
the  fit  moment,  when,  by  the  right  use  of  the  influence  of  an 
exalted  station,  it  was  possible  to  overcome  the  deeply-rooted 
prejudices  of  the  upper  classes — to  remove  the  still  more 
formidable,  because  latent,  impediments  of  party — generously 
to  have  undertaken  great  responsibility,  and  with  inde- 
fatigable labour  to  have  endeavoured  to  make  the  best  out 
of  the  only  materials  at  hand, — ^these  are  endowments  of  no 
ordinary  kind. 

"  To  move  in  any  rank  of  society  an  exception  to  its  general 
rules,  is  a  very  difficult,  and  if  accompanied  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  situation,  a  very  painful  position  tx)  a  reflecting 
mind. 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  cause— whether  exalted  rank,  un- 
bounded wealth,  surpassing  beauty  or  unrivalled  wit,  the 
renown  of  daring  deeds,  the  magic  of  a  world-wide  fame — to 
all  within  those  narrow  limits  the  dangers  and  the  penalties 
are  great.  Each  exists  an  isolated  spirit ;  each  unconsciously 
imprisoned  within  its  crystal  globe  perceives  the  colours  of 
all  external  objects  modifled  by  those  tints  imparted  to  them 
by  its  own  surrounding  sphere.  No  change  of  view  can  teach 
it  to  rectify  this  partial  judgment ;  throughout  its  earthward 
course  the  same  undying  rainbow  attends  to  the  last  its 
parent  drop. 

*'  Barely  indeed  can  some  deep-searching  mind,  after  long 
comparison,  perceive  the  real  colours  of  those  translucent 
shells  which  encompass  kindred  spirits ;  and  thus  at  length 
enable  him  to  achromatise  the  medium  which  surrounds  his 


172  ITO  SYMPATHIES. 

own.  To  one  who  has  thus  rectified  the  "  colour-Uindness  " 
of  his  intellectual  vision,  how  deep  the  sympathy  he  feels  for 
those  still  involved  in  that  hopeless  obscurity  from  which  he 
has  himself  escaped.  None  can  so  justly  appreciate  that 
sense  of  loneliness,  that  solitude  of  mind,  which  surrounds  un- 
questioned eminence  on  its  lofty  throne; — ^none,  therefore, 
can  make  so  large  an  allowance  for  its  errors; — ^none  so 
skilfully  assist  in  guiding  its  hazardous  career." 


CHAFrER  XII. 

RECJOLLECTIONS  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 

Official  visit  to  see  the  Difference  Engine  in  1829 — Extract  from  a  letter 
from  the  late  General  Sir  William  Napier — TjOBs  of  the  troopship 
"  Birkenhead" — The  Author  accompanies  the  Duke  to  the  Exhibition  of 
1851 — Fixed  in  the  crowd,  the  Duke  plays  with  a  child  of  two  years 
old — The  late  Countess  of  Wilton  asks  a  question  about  the  Difference 
Engine — The  Author's  explanation — The  Duke's  remark — Sketch  of 
one  portion  of  the  Duke's  intellectual  character — University  Addresses — 
The  Duke  helpn  a  dumpy  fellow  to  see  the  Queen — The  Author  saves 
a  Master  of  Arts  from  hanging — The  Duke  and  the  Ninth  Bridgewater 
Treatise — The  Duke  an  economist  of  time — Character  of  the  French 
Marshals. 

My  acquaintance  with  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  com- 
menced in  an  official  visit  from  himself  and  Mr.  Goulbum, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  to  inspect  the  drawings 
and  works  of  the  DiflFerence  Engine  No.  1.  This  was  in  No- 
vember, 1829.  Afterwards  I  met  the  Duke  in  private  society 
at  the  houses  of  one  or  two  of  his  intimate  friends,  and  subse* 
quently  I  was  honoured  not  unfrequently  by  receiving  him 
at  my  own.  During  the  Exhibition  of  1851  I  very  often 
accompanied  him  in  his  examination  of  the  contents  of  that 
building.  I  made  no  notes  of  any  of  the  conversations,  some 
of  them  highly  interesting,  which  occurred  on  such  occasions, 
because  I  felt  that  the  habit  of  recording  privately  the  con- 
versations with  our  acquaintances  was  a  breacli  of  faith  to- 
wards the  individual,  and  tended  to  destroy  all  confidence  in 
socdety. 


174  THE  LOSS  OF  THE  BIRKENHEAD. 

I  now  perceive,  when  it  is  too  late,  that  a  rigid  adherence 
to  that  rule  has  deprived  me  of  the  power  of  relating  circum- 
stances of  the  greatest  interest  to  survivors,  and  of  the  highest 
credit  to  himself.  I  should  not  even  have  adverted  to  the 
subject  in  the  present  work,  had  I  not  observed  in  the  fourth 
volume  of  the  life  of  the  late  Greneral  Sir  Charles  Napier  of 
Scinde  a  passage  which,  if  not  explained,  might  lead  to  the 
erroneous  inference  that  I  had  myself  proposed  to  speak  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  on  a  certain  military  subject, 
whereas  I  only  did  so  at  the  repeated  desire  of  Sir  Charles 
himself. 

The  following  is  a  portion  of  a  letter  from  General  Sir 
Charles  Napier  to  his  brother,  General  Sir  William  Napier, 
extracted  from  "  The  Life  of  Sir  Charles  Napier,"  vol.  iv., 
p.  347:— 

To  General  W.  Napier;  1852. 

"2lfay2nd. 
« I  MET  Babbage  at  Miss  Burdett  Coutts.  He  talked 
"  about  the  *  Birkenhead,'  and  was  very  eager,  saying, 
**  *  Cannot  you  speak  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  T  *  No ; 
"  it  would  seem  a  criticising  of  his  conduct.'  *  Well,  I,  as 
"  a  civilian,  may.'  *  Yes ;  and  you  will  do  good,  for  the 
^  Duke  aUuded  to  the  subject  at  the  Boyal  Academy  dinner 
**  an  hour  ago.'  Babbage  did  so  at  once,  asking  him  to  move 
''  in  the  matter ;  and  the  Duke  said  he  would.  I  also  spoke 
*^  to  Hardinge,  who  told  me  he  had  had  a  mind  to  allude 
<'  to  it  in  his  speech  at  the  dinner,  but  feared  it  might 

*•  seem  a  reflection  on  the  Duke." 

«  «  «  «  « 

''  I  have  been  told  that  the  Duke  is  only  awaiting  an  official 
"  despatch  from  Harry  Smith,  or  Cathcart,  about  the  *  Birken- 


THE  LOSS  OF  THE  6IBKENHEAD.  176 

''  head/  to  act    This  is  probable,  as  being  like  his  cautious 
"  way,  but,  to  my  thinking,  not  well  in  this  case." 

The  matter  referred  to  arose  thus.  Several  years  ago  a 
troop-ship,  named  the  ^Birkenhead,"  was  wrecked  on  the 
African  coast,  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  A  very  small 
portion  only  of  the  troops  were  saved.  According  to  the  tes- 
timony of  the  survivors,  the  discipline  and  order  which  pre- 
vailed on  board  up  to  the  final  catastrophe  was  admirable, 
and  almost  beyond  example.  If  any  human  means  could 
have  saved  those  invaluable  lives,  such  discipline  would  have 
largely  contributed  to  the  result 

Sharing  the  general  regret  at  this  severe  loss,  and  sympa- 
thising deeply  with  the  feelings  of  the  surviving  relatives,  it 
occurred  to  me  that  very  simple  and  inexpensive  means  were 
available,  which  if  employed,  would  at  the  least  afford  a  me- 
lancholy consolation  to  the  afflicted  relatives,  might  be  re- 
tained with  becoming  pride  in  their  families,  and  would 
also  add  to  the  respectability  of  the  social  position  of  the 
soldier. 

Observing  that  military  offences  punished  by  a  court-martial 
were  made  public  by  being  read  at  the  head  of  every  regiment, 
I  suggested  tliat  in  certain  cases  publicity  should  be  given  by 
the  same  means  to  noble  acts  of  forbearance  or  of  self-devotion. 

In  the  case  of  the  **  Birkenhead,"  in  which  ship  small  de- 
tachments of  several  regiments  were  lost,  I  suggested  that  an 
order  should  be  issued,  stating — 

The  circumstances  under  which  the  loss  occurred,  and  the 
nation's  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  the  departed. 

That  their  names  should  be  read  at  the  head  of  their  re- 
spective regiments. 

That  an  official  letter,  signed  by  the  colonel  or  other  proper 


176  Sm  CHARLES  NAPIER  APPROVES. 

oflScer  of  each  regiment,  describing  the  nature  of  the  service 
under  which  the  loss  occurred,  and  conveying  to  the  nearest 
surviving  relative  the  expression  of  the  high  approbation  the 
Government  entertained  of  such  heroic  conduct. 

Such  official  testimonials  would  soothe  the  feelings  of  many 
a  relative,  would  become  objects  of  just  pride  amongst  the 
relations  of  the  departed,  and  be  handed  down  as  heir-looms 
in  many  a  village  circle. 

I  mentioned  these  views  to  several  of  my  acquaintances, 
and  the  idea  seemed  to  meet  with  general  approbation. 
I  found  my  military  friends  fully  alive  to  the  advantage  of 
such  a  course  for  the  benefit  of  the  service,  and  also  as  a  con- 
solation to  surviving  relatives.  Amongst  others,  I  proposed 
it  to  the  late  General  Sir  Charles  Napier.  He  highly  ap- 
proved of  the  plan,  about  which  we  had  several  conversations. 
In  one  of  these  I  suggested  that  he  should  mention  it  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington ;  to  which  Sir  Charles  replied,  "  No,  I 
could  not  do  that :  you  should  tell  him  yourself."  I  smiled 
at  the  notion,  not  thinking  tliat  my  friend  was  in  earnest . 

A  short  time  after  I  met  Sir  Charles  Napier  at  a  large 
evening  party.  We  were  sitting  together  on  a  sofa  talking  : 
he  resumed  the  plan  I  had  proposed,  spoke  of  it  with  much 
approbation,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "  You  ought  to  tell  the 
Duke  of  it" 

I  replied  that  I  had  thought  lie  was  only  joking  when  he 
had  on  a  former  occasion  made  the  same  observation. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Sir  Charles ;  "  I  am  serious.  The  Duke 
will  attend  to  what  you  say  more  than  to  any  of  us." 

"  K  you  really  think  so,"  I  replied,  "  I  will  follow  your 
counsel.  I  hope,"  I  added,  ''  the  Duke  may  excuse  me  as  a 
civilian  for  speaking  about  it,  but  after  such  an  expression 
of  your  opinion  I  feel  bound  to  take  that  course." 


MENTIONED  TO  THE  DUKE.  177 

The  oonyersation  then  tamed  upon  other  snbjectSy  when 
shortly  after  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  announced. 

*' There,"  observed  Sir  Charles,  "is  the  Duke,  now  go 
and  talk  to  him  about  it"  I  promised  to  do  so  at  a  proper 
opportunity. 

After  the  Duke  had  made  his  bow  to  the  lady  of  the  house, 
and  recognised  and  conyersed  with  many  of  his  friends,  I 
threw  myself  in  his  way.  On  the  Duke  shaking  hands  with 
me,  I  remarked  that  I  was  particularly  glad  to  meet  him, 
because  an  idea  had  occurred  to  me  in  which  I  thought  he 
would  take  an  interest  He  stepped  with  me  a  little  out  of 
the  crowd,  and  I  then  stated  shortly  my  views.  The  Duke  paid 
great  attention  to  the  subject ;  made  several  remarks  upon  it ; 
and  when  we  separated,  I  felt  satisfied  that  he  took  a  strong 
interest  in  it  I  thought^  however,  that  he  had  applied  the 
idea  rather  more  to  the  officers,  whilst  my  main  object  was 
the  interests  of  the  privates. 

Much  later  in  the  evening  I  was  taking  some  refreshment 
in  another  room,  when  the  Duke  entering,  saw  and  rejoined 
me.  He  reverted  to  the  subject;  I  observed  that  though 
officers  and  privates  should  have  the  same  official  acknow- 
ledgment, yet  that  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  the  Grovem- 
ment  possessed  other  more  substantial  means  of  benefiting  the 
surviving  relatives  of  the  officers  than  of  the  privates.  We 
had  some  further  conversation  about  it,  and  I  then  felt  quite 
satisfied  that  he  both  understood  and  approved  of  it 

I  rather  think  the  Duke  of  Wellington  moved  in  the  House 
of  Lords  for  certain  papers,  on  which  he  intended  to  found 
some  measure  of  the  kind ;  but  his  death,  shortly  after,  put 
an  end  to  the  question. 

During  the  year  1851  I  very  frequently  accompanied  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  to  the  Exhibition,  or  met  him  there  by 

M 


178  THE  DUKE  PLAYS  WITH  A  CBILD. 

appointment  at  the  crystal  fountain.  Sometimes  one  or  two 
of  his  particular  friends,  usually  ladies,  were  invited  to  join 
the  party. 

On  the  first  occasion  I  spoke  to  one  of  the  attending  police, 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  our  passage  if  we  should 
get  into  a  great  crowd,  which,  of  course,  did  occasionally 
happen.  In  these  cases  the  policeman  a  little  preceded  us, 
and  it  was  very  interesting  to  observe  the  sudden  changes  in 
the  countenances  of  those  whom  the  constable  gently  touched 
in  order  to  accelerate  our  passage.  On  the  first  slight  pressure 
of  the  policeman's  hand  upon  the  arm  of  John  Bull,  he  looked 
round  with  indignation :  but  when  the  policeman  quietly 
asked  him  to  be  so  good  as  to  allow  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
to  pass,  the  muscles  of  John  Bull's  countenance  relaxed  into 
a  grateful  smile :  he  immediately  made  way,  and  in  several 
cases  thanked  the  officer  for  giving  him  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  Duka  During  the  most  crowded  of  those  days  we 
at  one  period  became  entirely  blocked  up  and  stationary  for 
upwards  of  ten  minutes.  Our  intelligent  companion  was 
himself  wedged  in,  at  a  short  distance  from  us.  Just  in  front 
of  us  stood  a  woman  with  a  child  in  her  arms  of  about  two 
years  old,  who  was  leaning  over  its  mother's  shoulder. 

The  Duke  began  to  play  with  the  infant,  pretending  to 
touch  its  ear  with  his  finger,  and  then  to  touch  its  nose. 
The  mother  was  gratified, — ^the  child  was  charmed*  At  last 
the  crowd  almost  suddenly  broke  up,  and  we  went  on.  After 
we  had  advanced  about  a  dozen  paces  I  said  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  "I  must  step  back  to  speak  to  the  mother  of 
your  young  friend."  I  then  asked  her  if  she  knew  the  gentle- 
man who  had  been  playing  with  her  child  for  the  last  ten 
minutes :  she  said  "  No,  Sir."  I  told  her  it  was  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.     Her  surprise  and  delight  were  equally  great. 


LADY  WILTON'S  REMARK  ON  DIPPERENCB  ENGINE.  179 

I  desired  her  to  tell  her  boy  wken  he  grew  up  that,  when 
an  infant,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  played  with  him.  I 
then  returned  and  told  the  Duke  the  object  of  my  mission. 
His  approbation  was  indicated  by  a  happy  smile. 

One  morning  the  Duke  of  Wellington  called  in  Dorset 
Street  with  the  late  Countess  of  Wilton,  to  whom  he  wished 
me  to  show  the  Difference  Engine.  Its  home  was  at  that 
period  in  my  drawing-room.  We  sat  round  it  whilst  1  ex- 
plained its  mode  of  action,  and  made  it  calculate  some  small 
Table  of  numbers. 

When  I  had  concluded  my  explanation.  Lady  Wilton,  ad- 
dressing me,  said,  '^  Now,  Mr.  Babbage,  can  you  tell  me  what 
was  your  greatest  difSculty  in  contriving  this  machine  ?"  I 
had  never  previously  asked  myself  that  question ;  but  I  knew 
the  nature  of  it  welL 

It  arose  not  from  the  difiSculty  of  contriving  mechanism  to 
execute  each  individual  movement,  for  I  had  contrived  very 
many  different  modes  of  executing  each :  but  it  really  arose 
from  the  almost  innumerable  eonibinations  amongst  all  these 
contrivances — a  number  so  vast,  that  no  human  mind  could 
examine  them  alL 

It  instantly  occurred  to  me  that  a  similar  difficulty  must 
present  itself  to  a  general  commanding  a  vast  army,  when 
about  to  engage  in  a  conflict  with  another  army  of  equal  or  of 
greater  amount  I  therefore  thought  it  must  have  been  felt 
by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  I  determined  to  make  a 
kind  of  psychological  experiment  upon  him. 

Carefully  abstaining  from  any  military  term,  I  commenced 
my  explanation  to  Lady  Wilton.  I  soon  perceived  by  his 
countenance  that  the  Duke  was  already  in  imagination  again 
in  Si>ain.    I  then  went  on  boldly  with  the  explanation  of  my 

n2 


180  THE  AUTHOR'S  SKETCH  OF  THE  DUKE'S 

own  mechanical  difSculty ;  and  when  I  had  concluded,  the 
Duke  turned  to  Lady  Wilton  and  said,  ''  I  know  that  diffi- 
culty well." 

The  success  of  this  experiment  induced  me  in  a  subsequent 
publication  *  to  give  an  analysis  of  one  portion  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington's  intellectual  character,  although  I  made  no 
mention  of  his  name.  Many  of  his  admirers,  however,  per- 
ceived at  once  the  truth  of  those  views,  and  recognised  the 
justice  of  their  application.  I  therefore  place  them  before  my 
readers  in  the  following  extract  from  the  work  referred  to : — 

"  It  is  now  felt  and  admitted,  that  it  is  the  civil  capacity  of 
the  great  commander  which  prepares  the  way  for  his  military 
triimiphs ;  that  his  knowledge  of  human  nature  enables  him 
to  select  the  fittest  agents,  and  to  place  them  in  the  situations 
best  adapted  to  their  powers ;  that  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  all  the  accessories  which  contribute  to  the  health  and 
comfort  of  his  troops,  enables  him  to  sustain  their  moral  and 
physical  energy.  It  has  been  seen  that  he  must  have  studied 
and  properly  estimated  the  character  of  his  foes  as  well  as  of 
his  allies,  and  have  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  per- 
sonal character  of  the  chiefs  of  both ;  and  still  further,  that 
he  must  have  scrutinized  the  secret  motives  which  regulated 
their  respective  governments. 

"When  directly  engaged  in  the  operations  of  contending 
armies  occupying  a  wide  extent  of  country,  he  must  be  able, 
with  rapid  glance,  to  ascertain  the  force  it  is  possible  to  con- 
centrate upon  each  of  many  points  in  any  given  time,  and  the 
greater  or  less  chance  of  failing  in  the  attempt.  He  must 
also  be  able  to  foresee,  with  something  more  than  conjecture, 
what  amount  of  the  enemy's  force  can  be  brought  to  the  same 
spot  in  the  same  and  in  difierent  times.  With  these  elements 
*  **  The  Exposition  of  1852; "  2nd  edition,  p.  222. 


INl'ELLECTUAL  CHARACTER.  181 

he  must  undertake  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  mental  tasks, 
that  of  classifying  and  grouping  the  innumerable  combina- 
tions to  which  either  party  may  have  recourse  for  purposes  of 
attack  or  defence.  Out  of  the  multitude  of  such  combina- 
tions, which  might  baffle  by  their  simple  enumeration  the 
strongest  memory,  throwing  aside  the  less  important,  he  must 
be  able  to  discover,  to  fix  his  attention,  and  to  act  upon  the 
most  favourable.  Finally,  when  the  course  thus  selected 
having  been  pursued,  and  perhaps  partially  carried  out,  is 
found  to  be  entirely  deranged  by  one  of  those  many  chances 
inseparable  from  such  operations,  then,  in  the  midst  of  action, 
he  must  be  able  suddenly  to  organise  a  difierent  system  of 
operations,  new  to  aU  other  minds,  yet  possibly,  although 
unconsciously,  anticipated  by  his  own. 

**  The  genius  that  can  meet  and  overcome  such  difficulties 
mud  be  intellectual,  and  would,  under  different  circumstances* 
have  been  distinguished  in  many  a  different  career. 

'^Nor  even  would  it  be  very  surprising  that  such  a  com- 
mander, estimating  justly  the  extent  of  his  own  powers,  and 
conscious  of  having  planned  the  best  combinations  of  which 
his  mind  is  capable,  should,  having  issued  his  orders,  calmly 
lie  down  on  the  eve  of  the  approaching  conflict,  and  find  in 
sleep  that  bodily  restoration  so  indispensable  to  the  full  exer- 
cise of  his  fiEumlties  in  the  mighty  struggle  about  to  ensue." 

Soon  after  the  Queen  came  to  the  throne,  the  two  Univer- 
sities presented  addresses  to  her  Majesty.  I  accompanied  that 
of  Cambridge.  The  deputation  was  very  numerous,  and  much 
unseemly  pushing  took  place.  I  recollect  a  very  short  dumpy 
fellow  pushing  much  more  energetically  than  any  other,  for 
whom  I  made  way,  as  I  retired  from  the  strife  in  which  I 
was  unwillingly  involved.    He  not  only  pushed,  but  was  con* 


182  THE  DUKE  ASSISTS  A  PUSHING  M.A. 

tinually  jumping  np  like  a  parched  pea  in  a  heated  frying- 
pan  :  his  object  being  to  get  a  glimpse  of  her  Majesty,  and  the 
effect  accomplished  being  to  alight  on  the  toes  or  graze  the 
heels  of  his  colleagaes. 

I  retired  into  a  window  close  to  the  end  of  the  position 
occupied  by  the  gentlemen-^t-arms.  The  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, who  had  a  short  time  before,  as  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Oxford,  presented  the  address  of  that  body,  still 
remained  in  the  state  apartments.  He  joined  me  in  the 
recess  of  the  window,  and  we  entered  into  conversation. 

After  a  time  the  little  dumpy  fellow,  who  had  been  regu- 
larly turned  out  of  the  crowd  for  his  pushing,  came  up  to  us, 
and,  mistaking  the  Duke  of  Wellington  for  a  beef-eater  or 
some  palace  attendant,  complained,  almost  in  tears,  that  he 
wanted  to  see  the  Queen,  and  that  they  had  pushed  him  out^ 
and  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  see  the  Queen. 

The  Duke  very  good-naturedly  said  he  would  take  him  to 
a  place  where  he  could  see  her  Majesty  without  being  pushed 
about  Accordingly,  the  Duke  led  him  behind  the  gentle- 
men-at-arms to  a  situation  in  which  the  little  man's  mah  was 
gratified,  and  then  returned  with  him  to  the  window,  and 
resumed  the  conversation. 

On  another  occasion  the  University  of  Cambridge  presented 
an  address  to  the  Queen  at  Buckingham  Palace.  The  crowd 
was  very  great  On  descending  one  of  the  flights  of  stairs, 
a  short  Master  of  Arts  was  unluckily  caught  by  the  string  of 
his  gown  hooking  itself  upon  one  of  the  large  door-handles. 
He  was  carried  off  his  legs  by  the  advancing  rush.  To  bring 
back  the  pendant  Master  of  Arts  a  single  inch  was  impossible 
fix)m  the  pressure  onwards.  So  whilst  two  or  three  of  his 
colleagues  with  difficulty  supported  him,  I  took  out  my  pen- 
knife and  cut  the  imprisoning  ribbon. 


ALL  PARCELS  REJECTED.  183 

When  I  published  the  ''Ninth  Bridgewater  Treatise,''  I 
sent  my  serrant  to  Apsley  House  with  a  presentation  copy 
for  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  next  morning  at  breakfast 
my  servant  informed  me  that  the  porter  absolutely  refused 
to  take  it  in,  although  he  stated  from  whom  it  came. 

I  remarked  to  my  brother-in-law,  who  was  staying  with  me, 
that  it  was  a  very  odd  circumstance,  and  inquired  what  was 
to  be  done.  He  replied,  **  When  a  man  refuses  to  receive  a 
parcel,  nothing  more  can  be  done."  I  then  observed,  that  if 
any  other  person  than  the  Duke  had  done  so,  I  should  have 
taken  no  further  step ;  but,  I  added,  that  I  knew  his  charac- 
ter so  well,  that  I  was  confident  there  was  really  a  good  and 
sufficient  reason,  although  I  could  not  conjecture  its  nature. 

After  breakfiEist  I  wrote  a  short  note  to  the  Duke,  mention- 
ing the  circumstance,  taking  for  granted  that  it  arose  entirely 
from  some  misconception  of  his  orders.  I  then  requested 
him  not  to  take  the  trouble  of  writing  to  me  to  explain  it ; 
but  added  that  I  would  send  the  volume  to  Apsley  House  on 
the  following  morning,  when,  I  had  no  doubt,  the  mistaken 
interpretation  of  his  orders  would  have  been  rectified. 

About  three  o'clock  the  same  day  a  servant  of  the  Duke's 
brought  me  a  note,  inquiring  if  there  were  any  answer  to 
take  back.  The  Duke  stated  in  his  note  that  letters,  books, 
parcels,  maps,  and  even  merchandise,  were  continually  sent 
to  him  for  the  purpose  of  being  forwarded  to  aU  parts  of  the 
world.  This,  he  observed,  threw  upon  his  housensteward  so 
great  a  responsibility,  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  give 
directions  that  no  parcel  should  be  received  at  Apsley  House 
without  a  written  order  with  his  signature,  like  that  which  he 
now  enclosed.  As  the  Duke's  servant  was  waiting,  I  gave 
him  the  book,  which  he  took  back,  and  I  retained  the  slip  of 
paper  for  any  other  similar  occasion. 


184.  THE  DUKE  DRESSED  IN  HIS  CARRIAGE. 

The  Duke  was  habitoally  an  economist  of  time.  One  day  I 
was  going  homeward  in  a  cab  to  dress  for  a  dinner  engagement, 
when  I  thought  I  observed  him  riding  down  St  James's  Street 
towards  the  House  of  Lords.  On  reaching  the  house  of  the 
friend  with  whom  I  was  to  dine,  I  found  that  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  expected  at  dinner.  He  arrived  punctually. 
In  the  course  of  the  evening  I  took  an  opportunity  of  asking 
him  whether  I  was  mistaken  in  supposing  I  had  seen  him  a 
short  time  before  dinner  riding  down  St  James's  Street  I 
then  expressed  my  surprise  at  the  rapidity  of  his  movements 
in  getting  back  to  Apsley  House  in  time  to  dress  and  bo 
punctual  to  his  engagement.  He  said,  ''  No,  I  did  not  do 
that ;  I  had  ordered  my  carriage  to  meet  me  at  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  I  changed  my  dress  whilst  it  was  bringing  me 
here." 

The  most  interesting  conversations  generally  occurred  when 
only  a  few  of  his  intimate  friends  met  together. 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  at  a  very  small  dinner-party, 
the  characters  of  the  French  marshals  became  the  subject  of 
conversation.  The  Duke,  being  appealed  to,  pointed  out 
freely  their  various  qualities,  and  assigned  to  each  his  peculiar 
excellence. 

One  question,  the  most  highly  interesting  of  all,  naturally 
presented  itself  to  our  minds.  I  was  speculating  how  I  could, 
without  impropriety,  suggest  it,  when,  to  my  great  relief,  one 
of  the  party,  addressing  the  Duke,  said — 

"  Well,  sir,  how  was  it  that,  with  such  various  great  quali- 
ties, you  licked  them  all,  one  after  another  ?" 

The  Duke  was  evidently  taken  by  surprise.  He  paused 
for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then  said — 

**  Well,  I  don't  know  exactly  how  it  was ;  but  I  think  that 
if  any  unexpected  circumstance  occurred  in  the  midst  of  a 


CURIOUS  QUESTION— THE  DUKE^  REPLY.  186 

battle,  which  deranged   its  whole  plan,  I  could    perhaps 
organize  another  plan  more  quickly  than  most  of  them." 

This  strongly  confirms  the  view  of  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton's character  given  in  the  preceding  pages.  After  examining 
all  the  more  important  combinations  which  might  be  made 
for  the  conflict,  and  having  selected  those  which  appeared 
the  best,  it  is  quite  natural,  if  any  accident  deranged  the 
original  plan,  that  he  should  perceive,  more  quickly  than 
another  commander,  one  amongst  the  many  plans  previously 
rejected  which  was  immediately  applicable  to  the  new  and 
unexpected  circumstances. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

BEOOLLECTIONS  OF  WOLLASTON,  DAVY,  AND   ROGERS. 

Secretaryship  of  Royal  Society — Mr.  Murray  of  Albemarle  Street — ^Remark 
on  "  The  Decline  of  Science  *' — Dr.  Somerville — Explanation  of  a  Job  of 
Sir  Humphry  Davy — History  of  the  Thaumatrope — Introduction  to  Mr. 
Rogers — ^The  Poet  nearly  run  over — ^Anecdote  of  the  "  Economy  of  Manu- 
factures**— ^Teaches  the  Author  how  to  live  for  ever — Rapidity  of  compo- 
sition amongst  Poets — Different  effects  of  Imagination  in  the  Poet  and 
the  Philosopher — Consultation  about  the  Author's  unwritten  Novel. 

In  1826,  one  of  the  secretaryships  of  the  Eoyal  Society 
became  vacant  Dr.  Wollaston  and  several  others  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Society  and  of  the  Council  wished 
that  I  should  be  appointed.  This  would  have  been  the  more 
agreeable  to  me,  because  my  early  friend  Herschel  was  at 
that  time  the  senior  Secretary. 

This  arrangement  was  agreed  to  by  Sir  H.  Davy,  and  I  left 
town  with  the  full  assurance  that  I  was  to  have  the  appoint- 
ment. In  the  mean  time  Sir  H.  Davy  summoned  a  Council 
at  an  unusual  hour — eight  o'clock  in  the  evening — for  a 
special  purpose,  namely,  some  arrangement  about  the  Trea- 
surer's accounts. 

After  the  business  relating  to  the  Treasurer  was  got  through, 
Sir.  H.  Davy  observed  that  there  was  a  secretaryship  vacant^ 
and  he  proposed  to  fill  it  up. 

Dr.  Wollaston  then  asked  Sir  Humphry  Davy  if  he 
claimed  the  nomination  as  a  right  of  the  President,  to  which 


SIR  HUMPHEY  DAVTS  DISBURSES. 


187 


Sir  H,  Davy  replied  that  he  did^  and  then  nominatod 
Mr,  QiOdf  en-  The  President^  as  president^  has  no  such  right ; 
and  eyen  if  he  had  possessed  it»  he  had  promiged  Air.  Her- 
schel  that  I  should  bo  his  colleague.  There  were  upright 
and  eminent  men  on  tliat  council ;  yet  no  one  of  them  had 

'  tlie  moral  courage  to  oppose  the  President's  dictationi  or  after- 
wards to  set  it  aside  on  the  ground  of  its  irregularity- 

A  few  years  after,  whilst  I  was  on  a  ^nsit  at  Wimbledon 
Park,  Dr,  and  Mrs.  Somerville  came  down  to  spend  the  day. 
Dr.  SomoniHe  mentioned  a  very  pleasant  dbiner  he  had  had 
mill  the  late  Mr,  John  Murray  of  Albemarle  Streeti  and  also 
a  conversation  relating  to  my  book  "On  the  Dediue  of 
BTkce  in  England/*  Mr.  Murmy  felt  hurt  at  a  remark  I 
had  made  on  himself  (ptige  107)  whilst  criticizing  a  then 
nnexplained  job  of  Sir  Huuiphry  Davy's,  Dr.  Somenille 
assured  3lr.  Murray  that  he  knew  me  iutimately,  and  that  if 

1 1  wero  oonvineed  that  I  had  done  him  an  injustice,  nobody 
would  bo  more  ready  to  reimir  it  A  few  dayi  after,  Mr. 
Blurmy  put  into  Dr.  Somcrville*s  hands  papers  explaining  the 
whole  of  the  transaetiou*  These  papers  were  now  iransfetfed 
to  me.    On  examining  them  I  found  ample  proof  of  what 

,  I  had  alwap  mispected.    The  observation  I  had  made  which 

I  pained  Mr.  Murray  feU  to  the  ground  as  soon  aa  the  real 

^  beta  were  known,  and  1  offered  to  retrtict  it  in  any  suitable 
manner.     One  plan  I  proposed  was  to  print  a  supplemental 

f  pegc^t  and  have  it  bound  up  with  all  the  remaining  copies  of 
the  "  Decline  of  Scitmco," 

Mr.  Murray  was  satisfied  witli  my  explanation^  but  did  not 
wish  me  to  take  the  course  I  pn>po8ed,  at  least,  not  at  tliat 

^Uma  Various  objections  may  have  presented  themselvea  to 
hiJi  mind,  but  the  affair  was  adjourned  with  tJio  understanding 
that  at  some  future  time  I  should  exj)lauj  the  real  utate  of 


188  EXPLANATION  OF  THAT  JOB. 

the  facts  which  had  led  to  this  misinterpretation  of  Mr. 
Murray*8  conduct 

The  true  history  of  the  affair  was  this  :  Being  on  the 
Council  of  the  Koyal  Society  in  1827,  I  observed  in  our 
accounts  a  charge  of  381L  58.  as  paid  to  Mr.  Murray  for  500 
copies  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  Discourses. 

I  asked  publicly  at  the  Council  for  an  explanation  of  this 
item.     The  answer  given  by  Dr.  Young  and  others  was — 

'*  That  the  Council  had  agreed  to  purchase  these  volumes 
at  that  price,  in  order  to  induce  Mr.  Murray  to  print  the 
President's  speeches." 

To  this  I  replied  that  such  an  explanation  was  entirely 
inadmissible.  I  then  showed  that  even  allowing  a  very  high 
price  for  composing,  printing,  and  paper,  if  the  Council  had 
wished  to  print  500  copies  of  those  Discourses  they  could 
have  done  it  themselves  for  150Z.  at  the  outside.  I  could  not 
extract  a  single  word  to  elucidate  this  mystery,  about  which, 
however,  I  had  my  own  ideas. 

It  appeared  by  the  papers  put  into  my  hands  that  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  had  applied  to  Mr.  Murray,  and  had  sold  him 
the  copyright  of  the  Discourses  for  500  guineas,  one  of  the 
conditions  being  that  the  Boyal  Society  should  purchase  of 
him  500  copies  at  the  trade  price. 

Mr.  Murray  paid  Sir  H.  Davy  the  500  guineas  in  three 
bills  at  six,  twelve,  and  eighteen  months.  These  bills  passed 
through  Drummond's  (Sir  H.  Davy's  banker),  and  I  have 
had  them  in  my  own  hands  for  examination. 

Thus  it  appears  that  Mr.  Murray  treated  the  whole  affair 
as  a  matter  of  business,  and  acted  in  this  purchase  in  his 
usual  liberal  manner.  I  have  had  in  my  hand  a  statement 
of  the  winding-up  of  that  account  copied  from  Mr.  Murray's 
books,  and  I  find  that  he  was  a  considerable  loser  by  his  pur- 


THE  TUAUMATROPEi  ITS  ORIGIN.  189 

chase.  Sir  H.  Davy,  on  the  other  hand,  contrived  to  transfer 
between  three  and  four  hundred  pounds  from  the  funds  of  the 
Royal  Society  into  his  own  pocket* 

It  was  my  determination  to  have  called  for  an  explanation 
of  this  affair  at  the  election  of  our  President  and  o£Scers  at 
our  anniversary  on  the  30th  November  if  Sir  H.  Davy  had 
been  again  proposed  as  President  in  1827. 

Ths  Thaumatrope. 

One  day  Herschel,  sitting  with  me  after  dinner,  amusing 
himself  by  spinning  a  pear  upon  the  table,  suddenly  asked 
whether  I  could  show  him  the  two  sides  of  a  shilling  at  the 
same  moment. 

I  took  out  of  my  pocket  a  shilling,  and  holding  it  up  before 
the  looking-glassy  pointed  out  my  method.  ''  No,**  said  my 
friend,  ''  that  won't  do  ;**  then  spinning  my  shilling  upon  the 
table,  he  pointed  out  his  method  of  seeing  both  sides  at 
once.  The  next  day  I  mentioned  the  anecdote  to  the  late 
Dr.  Fitton,  who  a  few  days  after  brought  me  a  beautiful  illoiB- 
tration  of  the  principle.  It  consisted  of  a  round  disc  of  card 
suspended  between  the  two  pieces  of  sewing-silk.  These 
threads  being  held  between  the  finger  and  thumb  of  each 
hand,  were  then  made  to  turn  quickly,  when  the  disc  of  card, 
of  course,  revolved  also. 

Upon  one  side  of  this  disc  of  card  was  painted  a  bird ;  upon 
the  other  side,  an  empty  bird-cage.  On  turning  the  thread 
rapidly,  the  bird  appeared  to  have  got  inside  the  cage.  We 
soon  made  numerous  applications,  as  a  rat  on  one  side  and  a 
trap  upon  the  other,  &c.  It  was  shown  to  Captain  E[ater9 
Dr.  Wollaston,  and  many  of  our  friends,  and  was,  after  the 
lapse  of  a  short  time,  forgotten. 

•  See  **  Decline  of  Science  in  England,**  p.  105.    8to.    1S30. 


190  THE  THAUMATROPE:  ITS  RETRIBUTION. 

Some  months  after,  during  dinner  at  the  Boyal  Society 
Club,  Sir  Joseph  Banks  being  in  the  chair,  I  heard  Mr. 
Barrow,  then  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  talking  very  loudly 
about  a  wonderful  invention  of  Dr.  Paris,  the  object  of  which 
I  could  not  quite  understand.  It  was  called  the  thaumatrope, 
and  was  said  to  be  sold  at  the  Boyal  Institution,  in  Albermarle- 
street.  Suspecting  that  it  had  some  connection  with  our 
unnamed  toy,  I  went  the  next  morning  and  purchased,  for 
seven  shillings  and  sixpence,  a  thaumatrope,  which  I  after- 
wards sent  down  to  Slough  to  the  late  Lady  HerscheL  It 
was  precisely  the  thing  which  her  son  and  Dr.  Fitton  had 
contributed  to  invent,  which  amused  all  their  friends  for  a 
time  and  had  then  been  forgotten.  There  was  however  one 
additional  thaumatrope  made  afterwards.  It  consisted  of  the 
usual  disc  of  paper.  On  one  side  was  represented  a  thauma- 
trope (the  design  upon  it  being  a  penny-piece)  with  the  motto, 
"  How  to  turn  a  penny." 

On  the  other  side  was  a  gentleman  in  black,  with  his 
hands  held  out  in  the  act  of  spinning  a  thaumatrope,  the 
motto  being,  "  A  new  trick  from  Paris." 

After  my  contest  for  Finsbury  was  decided,  Mr.  Sogers  the 
banker,  and  the  brother  of  the  poet,  who  had  been  one  of  my 
warmest  supporters,  proposed  accompanying  me  to  the  hus- 
tings at  the  declaration  of  the  polL  He  had  also  invited  a 
party  of  some  of  the  most  influential  electors  of  his  district  to 
dine  with  him  in  the  course  of  the  week,  in  order  that  they 
might  meet  me,  and  consider  about  measures  for  supporting 
me  at  the  next  opportunity. 

On  a  cold  drizzling  rainy  day  in  November  the  final  state 
of  the  poll  was  declared.  Mr.  Bogers  took  me  in  his  carriage 
to  the  hustings,  and  caught  a  cold,  which  seemed  at  first  un- 
important.     On   the   day   of  the   dinner,   when  we  met  at 


THE  POET  AND  PHILOSOPHER  AT  A  CROSSING.       191 

Mr.  Bogers'Sy  who  resided  at  Islington,  he  was  unable  to  leave 
his  bed.  Miss  Bogers,  his  sister,  who  lived  with  him,  and  his 
brother  the  poet,  received  us,  quite  unconscious  of  the  dan- 
gerous condition  of  their  relative,  who  died  the  next  day. 

Thus  commenced  a  Mendship  with  both  of  my  much-valued 
friends  which  remained  unruffled  by  the  slightest  wave  until 
their  lamented  loss.  Miss  Bogers  removed  to  a  house  in  the 
Begent's  Park,  in  which  the  paintings  by  modem  artists  col- 
lected by  her  elder  brother,  and  increased  by  her  own  judicious 
taste,  were  arranged.  The  society  at  that  house  comprised 
all  that  was  most  eminent  in  literature  and  in  art.  The  ad- 
journment after  her  breakfasts  to  the  delightful  verandah 
overlooking  the  Park  still  clings  to  my  fading  memory,  and 
the  voices  of  her  poet  brother,  of  Jeffrey,  and  of  Sidney 
Smith  still  survive  in  the  vivid  impressions  of  their  wisdom 
and  their  wit. 

I  do  not  think  the  genuine  kindness  of  the  poet's  character 
was  sufficiently  appreciated.  I  occasionally  walked  home  with 
him  from  parties  during  the  first  years  of  our  acquaintance. 
In  later  years,  when  his  bodily  strength  began  to  fail,  I  always 
accompanied  him,  though  sometimes  not  without  a  littie  con- 
test 

I  have  frequently  walked  with  him  from  his  sister's  house, 
in  the  Begent's  Park,  to  his  own  in  St  James's  Place,  and  he 
has  sometimes  insisted  upon  returning  part  of  the  way  home 
with  me. 

On  one  of  those  occasions  we  were  crossing  a  street  near 
Cavendish  Square :  a  cart  coming  rapidly  round  the  comer,  I 
almost  dragged  him  over.  As  soon  as  we  were  safe,  the  poet 
said,  very  much  as  a  child  would,  "  There,  now,  that  was  all 
your  Cftult ;  you  wotdd  come  with  me,  and  so  I  was  nearly 
run  over."    However,  I  found  less  and  less  resistance  to  my 


192  HOW  TO  LIVE  FOR  EVER. 

accompanying  him,  and  only  regretted  that  I  oould  not  be 
constantly  at  his  side  on  those  occasions. 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  the  **  Economy  of  Manufac- 
tures," Mr.  Rogers  told  me  that  he  had  met  one  evening,  at  a 
very  fashionable  party,  a  young  dandy,  with  whom  he  had  had 
some  conversation.  The  poet  had  asked  him  whether  he  had 
read  that  work.  To  this  his  reply  was,  "  Yes :  it  is  a  very  nice 
book — just  the  kind  of  book  that  anybody  could  have  written." 

One  day,  when  I  was  in  great  favour  with  the  poet,  we 
were  talking  about  the  preservation  of  health.  He  told  me 
he  would  teach  me  how  to  live  for  ever ;  for  which  I  thanked 
him  in  a  compliment  after  his  own  style,  rather  than  in  mine. 
I  answered,  "Only  embalm  me  in  your  poetry,  and  it  is 
done."  Mr.  Sogers  invited  me  to  breakfast  with  him  the 
next  morning,  when  he  would  communicate  the  receipt.  We 
were  alone,  and  I  enjoyed  a  very  entertaining  breakfast  The 
receipt  consisted  mainly  of  cold  ablutions  and  the  frequent 
use  of  the  flesh  brusL  Mr.  Bogers  himself  used  the  latter  to 
a  moderate  extent  regularly,  three  times  every  day— before 
he  dressed,  himself,  when  he  dressed  for  dinner,  and  before  he 
got  into  bed.  About  six  or  eight  strokes  of  the  flesh-brush 
completed  each  operation.  We  then  adjourned  to  a  shop, 
where  I  purchased  a  couple  of  the  proper  brushes,  \vhich  I 
used  for  several  years,  and  still  use  occasionally,  with,  I  be- 
lieve, considerable  advantage. 

Once,  at  Mr.  Rogers's  table,  I  was  talking  with  one  of  his 
guests  about  the  speed  with  which  some  authors  composed, 
and  the  slowness  of  others.  I  then  turned  to  our  host,  and, 
much  to  his  surprise,  inquired  how  many  lines  a-day  on  the 
average  a  poet  usually  wrote.  My  friend,  when  his  astonish- 
ment had  a  little  subsided,  very  good-naturedly  gave  us  the 
result  of  his  own  experience.  He  said  that  he  had  never  written 


RAPIDITY  OF  COMPOSITION.  193 

more  than  four*  lines  of  verse  in  any  one  day  of  his  life. 
This  I  can  easily  understand  ;  for  Mr.  Bogers'  taste  was  the 
most  fastidious,  as  well  as  the  most  just,  I  ever  met  with. 
Another  circumstance  also,  I  think,  contributed  to  this  slow- 
ness of  composition. 

An  author  may  adopt  either  of  two  modes  of  composing. 
He  may  write  oflf  the  whole  of  his  work  roughly,  so  as  to  get 
upon  paper  the  plan  and  general  outline,  without  attending  at 
all  to  the  language .  He  may  afterwards  study  minutely  every 
clause  of  each  sentence,  and  then  every  word  of  each  clause. 

Or  the  author  may  finish  and  polish  each  sentence  as  soon 
as  it  is  written. 

This  latter  process  was,  I  think,  employed  by  Mr.  Bogers, 
at  least  in  his  poetry. 

He  then  told  us  that  Southey  composed  with  much  greater 
rapidity  than  himself,  as  well  in  poetry  as  in  prose.  Of  the 
latter  Southey  frequently  wrote  a  great  many  pages  before 
breakfast. 

Once,  at  a  large  dinner  party,  Mr.  Bogers  was  speaking  of 
an  inconvenience  arising  from  the  custom,  then  commencing, 
of  having  windows  formed  of  one  large  sheet  of  plate-glass. 
He  said  that  a  short  time  ago  he  sat  at  dinner  with  his  back 
to  one  of  these  single  panes  of  plate-glass :  it'  appeared  to 
him  that  the  window  was  wide  open,  and  such  was  the  force 
of  imagination,  that  he  actuaUy  caught  cold. 

It  so  happened  that  I  was  sitting  just  opposite  to  the  poet. 
Hearing  this  remark,  I  immediately  said,  '*  Dear  me,  how  odd 
"  it  is,  Mr.  Bogers,  that  you  and  I  should  make  such  a  very 
^  different  use  of  the  fiEU^ulty  of  imagination*  When  I  go  to 
**  the  house  of  a  friend  in  the  country,  and  unexpectedly  re- 

*  I  am  not  quite  certain  that  the  number  was  four ;  but  I  am  absolutely 
certain  that  it  was  either  four  or  six. 


194  DIFFERENT  EFFECTS  OF  IMAGINATION. 

**  main  for  the  niglit,  having  no  night-cap,  I  should  naturally 
"  catch  cold.  But  by  tying  a  bit  of  pack-thread  tightly  round 
''  my  head,  I  go  to  sleep  imagining  that  I  have  a  night-cap  on ; 
"  consequently  I  catch  no  cold  at  alL"  This  sally  produced 
much  amusement  in  all  around,  who  supposed  I  had  impro- 
vised it ;  but,  odd  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  a  practice  I  have 
often  resorted  to.  Mr.  Rogers,  who  knew  full  well  the  respect 
and  regard  I  had  for  him,  saw  at  once  that  I  was  relating  a 
simple  fact,  and  joined  cordially  in  the  merriment  it  excited. 
In  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Eogers's  life,  when,  being  unable 
to  walk,  he  was  driven  in  his  carriage  round  the  Begent's 
Park,  he  frequently  called  at  my  door,  and,  when  I  was  able, 
I  often  accompanied  him  in  his  drive.  On  some  one  of  these 
occasions,  when  I  was  unable  to  accompany  him,  I  put  into  his 
hands  a  parcel  of  proof-sheets  of  a  work  I  was  then  writing, 
thinking  they  might  amuse  him  during  his  drive,  and  that  I 
might  profit  by  his  criticism.  Some  years  before,  I  had  con- 
sulted him  about  a  novel  I  had  proposed  to  write  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  making  money  to  assist  me  in  completing  the 
Analytical  Engine.  I  breakfasted  alone  with  the  poet,  who 
entered  fully  into  the  subject  I  proposed  to  give  up  a 
twelvemonth  to  writing  the  novel,  but  I  determined  not  to 
commence  it  unless  I  saw  pretty  clearly  that  I  could  make 
about  5,000?.  by  the  sacrifice  of  my  time.  The  novel  was  to 
have  been  in  three  volumes,  and  there  would  probably  have 
been  reprints  of  another  work  in  two  volumes.  Both  of  these 
works  would  have  had  graphic  illustrations.  The  poet  gave 
me  much  information  on  all  the  subjects  connected  with  the 
plan,  and  amongst  other  things,  observed  that  when  he  pub- 
lished his  beautifully  illustrated  work  on  Italy,  that  he  had 
paid  9,000/.  out  of  his  own  pocket  before  he  received  any 
return  for  that  work. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LAPLACE,   BIOT,  AND  HUMBOLT. 

My  First  Visit  to  Parifl — Anecdote  of  the  fifty-two  Eggs — Mistake  about 
Woodhouso — Fourier — Biot — Drawings  of  tbo  Difference  Engine — Strong 
characteristic  of  Humboldt's  mind  —  Englisb  Clergyman  at  Paris — 
Great  Meeting  of  Pbilosopbers  at  Berlin,  1828 — Introduces  tbt  Author 
to  Magnus  and  Derichlet — Puts  the  Englishman  upon  the  Dining  Com- 
mittee— Conversation  in  the  Linden  Walk — Humboldt's  study — Various 
members  of  the  family  of  Buonaparte — Lucien  and  his  Children — Louis, 
the  King  of  Holland— Joseph,  the  King  of  Spain — His  second  Daughter 
nuuried  to  a  Son  of  Louis— Their  taste— Drawings  and  Lithographs — 
Her  Death. 

Mt  first  yisit  to  Paris  was  made  in  company  with  my  friend 
John  Herschel.  On  reaching  Abbeville,  we  wanted  breakfieust, 
and  I  undertook  to  order  it.  Each  of  us  usually  required  a 
couple  of  eggs.  I  preferred  haying  mine  moderately  boiled, 
but  my  friend  required  his  to  be  boiled  quite  hard.  Haying 
explained  this  matter  to  the  waiter,  I  concluded  by  instruct- 
ing him  that  each  of  us  required  two  eggs  thus  cooked, 
concluding  my  order  with  tlie  words,  "  pour  chacun  deux." 

The  garden  ran  along  the  passage  half  way  towards  the 
kitchen,  and  then  called  out  in  his  loudest  tone — 

"  II  faut  faire  bouillir  cinquante-deux  oeufis  pour  Messieurs 
les  Anglais."  I  burst  into  such  a  fit  of  uncontrollable  laughter 
at  tliis  absurd  misunderstanding  of  ehcicun  deux,  for  einquanie- 
deux,  that  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  explain  it  to 
Herschel,  and  but  for  his  running  into  the  kitx^hen  to  counter- 

o  2 


196  FIFTY-TWO  EGGS. 

mand  it,  the  half  hundred  of  eggs  would  have  assuredly  been 
simmering  over  the  fire. 

A  few  days  after  our  arrival  in  Paris,  we  dined  with 
Laplace,  where  we  met  a  large  party,  most  of  whom  were 
members  of  the  Institut  The  story  had  already  arrived  at 
at  Paris,  having  rapidly  passed  through  severed  editions. 

To  my  great  amusement,  one  of  the  party  told  the  company 
that,  a  few  days  before,  two  young  Englishman  bemg  at 
Abbeville,  had  ordered  fifty-two  eggs  to  be  boiled  for  their 
break£Btst,  and  that  they  ate  up  every  one  of  them,  as  well  as 
a  large  pie  which  was  put  before  them. 

My^next  neighbour  at  dinner  asked  me  if  I  thought  it 
probable.  I  replied,  that  there  was  no  absurdity  a  young 
Englishman  would  not  occasionally  commit. 

One  morning  Herschel  and  I  called  on  Laplace,  who  spoke 
to  us  of  various  English  works  on  mathematical  subjects. 
Amongst  others,  he  mentioned  with  approbation,  "  Un  ouvrage 
de  vous  deux,"  We  were  both  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  to  what 
work  he  referred.  Herschel  and  I  had  not  written  any  joint 
work,  although  we  had  together  translated  the  work  of  La- 
croix.  The  volume  of  the  "Memoirs  of  the  Analytical 
Society,"  though  really  our  joint  production,  was  not  known 
to  be  such,  and  it  was  also  clear  that  Laplace  did  not  refer 
to  that  work.  Perceiving  that  we  did  not  recognise  the  name 
of  the  author  to  whom  he  referred,  Laplace  varied  the  pro- 
nunciation by  calling  him  voiis  deux  ;  the  first  word  being  pro- 
nounced as  the  French  word  **  vous,"  and  the  second  as  the 
English  word  "  deuce." 

Upon  further  explanation,  it  turned  out  that  Laplace  meant 
to  speak  of  a  work  published  by  Woodhouse,  whose  name 
is  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  French  so  very  like  vous 
deux. 


FOURIER  AND  BIOT.  197 

Poisson,  Fourier,  and  Biot  were  amongst  my  earliest  friends 
in  Paris.  Fourier,  then  Secretary  of  the  Institute,  had  ac- 
companied the  first  Napoleon  in  his  expedition  to  Egypt 
His  profound  acquaintance  with  analysis  remains  recorded 
in  his  works.  His  unaffected  and  genitd  manner,  the  vast 
extent  of  his  acquirements,  and  his  admirable  taste  conspi- 
cuous even  in  the  apartments  he  inhabited,  were  most  felt  by 
those  who  were  honoured  by  his  friendship. 

With  M.  Biot  I  became  acquainted  in  early  life ;  he  was 
then  surrounded  by  a  happy  family.  In  my  occasional  visits 
to  Paris  I  never  omitted  an  opportunity  of  paying  my  respects 
to  him :  when  deprived  of  those  supports  and  advanced  in 
life,  he  still  earnestly  occupied  himself  in  carrying  out  the 
investigations  of  his  earlier  years. 

His  son,  M.  Biot,  a  profound  oriental  scholar,  who  did  me 
the  honour  of  translating  *  The  Economy  of  Manufactures,' 
died  many  years  before  his  father. 

In  one  of  my  visits  to  Paris,  at  a  period  when  beards  had 
become  fashionable  amongst  a  certain  class  of  my  countrymen, 
I  met  Biot  After  our  first  greeting,  looking  me  full  in  the 
face,  he  said,  ''  My  dear  friend,  you  are  the  best  shaved  man 
in  Europe." 

At  a  later  period  I  took  with  me  to  Paris  the^  complete 
drawings  of  Difference  Engine  No.  2.  As  soon  as  I  had  hung 
them  up  round  my  own  apartments  to  explain  them  to  my 
friends  I  went  to  the  College  de  France,  where  M.  Biot 
resided.  I  mentioned  to  him  the  fact,  and  said  that  if  it  was  a 
subject  in  which  he  was  interested,  and  had  leisure  to  look  at 
these  drawings,  I  should  have  great  pleasure  in  bringing  them 
to  him,  and  giving  him  any  explanation  that  he  might  desire- 
I  told  him,  however,  that  I  was  fully  aware  how  much  the 
time  of  every  man  who  really  adds  to  science  must  be  oc- 


198  BIOT  AND  THE  DIFFERENCE  ENGINE. 

cupiedy  and  that  I  made  this  proposal  rather  to  satisfy  my 
own  mind  that  I  had  not  neglected  one  of  my  oldest  friends 
than  in  the  expectation  that  he  had  time  for  the  examination 
of  this  new  subject 

The  answer  of  my  friend  was  remarkable.  After  thanking 
me  in  the  warmest  terms  for  this  mark  of  friendship,  he  ex- 
plained to  me  that  the  effect  of  age  upon  his  own  mind  was 
to  render  the  pursuit  of  any  new  inquiry  a  matter  of  slow 
and  painful  effort ;  but  that  in  following  out  the  studies  of 
his  youth  he  was  not  so  much  impeded.  He  added  that  in 
those  subjects  he  could  still  study  with  satisfaction,  and  even 
make  advances  in  them,  assisted  in  the  working  out  of  his 
views  experimentally  by  the  aid  of  his  younger  friends. 

I  was  much  gratified  by  this  unreserved  expression  of  the 
state  of  the  case,  and  I  am  sure  those  younger  men  who  so 
kindly  assisted  the  aged  philosopher  will  be  glad  to  know 
that  their  assistance  was  duly  appreciated. 

The  last  time  during  M.  Biot's  life  that  I  visited  Paris  I 
went,  as  usutd,  to  the  College  de  France.  I  inquired  of  the 
servant  who  opened  the  door  after  the  state  of  M.  Biot's 
health,  which  was  admitted  to  be  feeble.  I  then  asked 
whether  he  was  well  enough  to  see  an  old  friend.  Biot  him- 
self had  heard  the  latter  part  of  this  conversation.  Coming 
into  the  passage  he  seized  my  hand  and  said  "  My  dear  friend, 
I  would  see  you  even  if  I  were  dying." 

Alexander  Etmholdt. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  Humboldt's 
mind  was,  that  he  not  merely  loved  and  pursued  science  for 
its  own  sake,  but  that  he  derived  pleasure  from  assisting  with 
his  information  and  advice  any  other  inquirer,  however  hum- 
ble, who  might  need  it 


HUMBOLDT  AT  PARIS.  199 

In  one  of  my  visits  to  Paris,  Humboldt  was  sitting  with  me 
when  a  friend  of  mine,  an  English  clergyman,  who  had  just 
arrived  in  Paris,  and  had  only  two  days  to  spare  for  it,  called 
upon  me  to  ask  my  assistance  about  getting  access  to  certain 
MSS.  Putting  into  Humboldt's  hand  a  tract  lying  on  my 
table,  I  asked  him  to  excuse  me  for  a  few  minutes  whilst  I 
gave  what  advice  I  could  to  my  countryman. 

My  friend  told  me  that  he  wanted  to  examine  a  MS^  which 
he  was  informed  was  in  a  certain  library  in  a  certain  street 
in  Paris :  that  he  knew  nobody  in  the  city  to  help  him  in  his 
mission. 

Humboldt  having  heard  this  statement,  came  over  to  us 
and  said,  *^  If  you  will  introduce  me  to  your  friend,  I  can  put 
him  in  the  way  of  seeing  the  MSS.  he  is  in  search  of."  He 
then  explained  that  the  MSS.  had  been  removed  to  another 
library  in  Paris,  and  proposed  to  give  my  friend  a  note  of  in- 
troduction to  the  librarian,  and  mentioned  other  MSS.  and 
other  libraries  in  which  he  wotdd  find  information  upon  the 
same  subject. 

Many  years  after,  being  at  Vienna,  I  heard  that  Himiboldt 
was  at  Toplitz,  a  circumstance  which  induced  me  to  visit  that 
town.  On  my  arrival  I  found  he  had  left  it  a  few  days  before 
on  his  return  to  Berlin.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  I 
followed  him  to  that  city,  and  having  arrived  in  the  middle  of 
the  day,  I  took  apartments  in  the  Linden  Walk,  and  got  all 
my  travelling  apparatus  in  order;  I  then  went  out  to  call 
on  Humboldt.  Finding  that  he  had  gone  to  dine  with  his 
brother  William,  who  resided  at  a  short  distance  from  Berlin, 
I  therefore  merely  left  my  card. 

The  next  morning  at  seven  o'clock,  before  I  was  out  of  bed, 
I  received  a  very  kind  note  from  Humboldt,  to  ask  me  to 
breakfast  with  him  at  nine.  In  a  postscript  he  added,  **  What 


200        GREAT  MEETING  OF  GERMAN  PHILOSOPHERS. 

are  the  moviDg  molecules  of  Robert  Brown  ?"  These  atoms 
of  dead  matter  in  rapid  motion,  when  examined  under  the 
microscope,  were  then  exciting  great  attention  amongst  phi- 
losophers. 

I  met  at  breakfast  several  of  Humboldt's  friends,  with 
whose  names  and  reputation  I  was  well  acquainted. 

Humboldt  himself  expressed  great  pleasure  that  I  should 
have  visited  Berlin  to  attend  the  great  meeting  of  German 
philosophers,  who  in  a  few  weeks  were  going  to  assemble  in 
that  capital.  I  assured  him  that  I  was  quite  unaware  of  the 
intended  meeting,  and  had  directed  my  steps  to  Berlin  merely 
to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  his  society.  I  soon  perceived  that 
this  meeting  of  philosophers  on  a  very  large  scale,  supported 
by  the  King  and  by  all  the  science  of  Germany,  might  itself 
have  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  future  progress  of  human 
knowledge.  Amongst  my  companions  at  the  breakfast-table 
were  Derichlet  and  Magnus.  In  the  course  of  the  morning 
Humboldt  mentioned  to  me  that  his  own  duties  required  his 
attendance  on  the  King  every  day  at  three  o'clock,  and 
having  also  in  his  hands  the  organization  of  the  great 
meeting  of  philosophers,  it  would  not  be  in  his  power  to 
accompany  me  as  much  as  he  wished  in  seeing  the  various 
institutions  in  Berlin.  He  said  that,  under  these  circum- 
stances, he  had  asked  his  two  young  friends,  Derichlet  and 
Magnus,  to  supply  his  place.  During  many  weeks  of  my 
residence  in  Berlin,  I  felt  the  daily  advantage  of  this  thought- 
fill  kindness  of  Humboldt  Accompanied  by  one  or  other, 
and  frequently  by  both,  of  my  young  friends,  I  saw  every- 
thing to  the  best  advantage,  and  derived  an  amount  of  in- 
formation and  instruction  which  under  less  favourable  circum- 
stances it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  obtained. 

The  next  morning,  I  again  breakfasted  with   Humboldt 


THE  AUTHOR  PUT  ON  THE  DININQ  COMMITTEE.     201 

On  the  previous  day  I  had  mentioned  that  I  was  making  a 
collection  of  the  signs  employed  in  map-making.  I  now  met 
Von  Buch  and  General  Buhl,  both  of  whom  were  profoundly 
acquainted  with  that  subject.  I  had  searched  in  vain  for  any 
specimen  of  a  map  shaded  upon  the  principle  of  lines  of 
equal  elevation.  Von  Buch  the  next  morning  gave  me  an 
engraving  of  a  small  map  upon  that  principle,  which  was,  I 
believe,  at  that  time  the  only  one  existing. 

After  breakfast  we  went  into  Humboldt's  study  to  look  at 
something  he  wished  to  show  us.  In  turning  over  his  papers, 
wliich,  like  my  own,  were  lying  apparently  in  great  disorder 
upon  the  table,  he  picked  up  the  cover  of  a  letter  on  which 
was  written  a  number  of  names  in  different  parallel  columns. 
"  That,"  he  observed  incidentally,  "  is  for  you."  After  he  had 
shown  us  the  object  of  our  visit  to  his  sanctum,  he  reverted  to 
tlie  envelop  which  he  put  into  my  hands,  explaining  that  he 
had  grouped  roughly  together  for  my  use  all  the  remarkable 
men  then  in  Berlin,  and  several  of  tliose  who  were  expected. 

These  he  had  arranged  in  classes : — ^Men  of  science,  men  of 
letters,  sculptors,  painters,  and  artists  generally,  instrument- 
makers,  &c.     This  list  I  found  very  convenient  for  reference. 

When  the  time  of  the  great  meeting  approached,  it  became 
necessary  to  prepare  the  arrangements  for  the  convenience  of 
the  assembled  science  of  Europe.  One  of  the  first  things,  of 
course,  was  the  important  question,  how  they  were  to  dine? 
A  committee  was  therefore  appointed  to  make  experiment  by 
dining  successively  at  each  of  the  three  or  four  hotels  com- 
peting for  the  honour  of  providing  a  table  d'hote  for  the 
savans. 

Humboldt  put  me  on  that  committee,  remarking,  that  an 
Englishman  always  appreciates  a  good  dinner.  The  com- 
mittee performed  their  agreeable  duty  in  a  manner  quite 


202  CONVERSATION  IN  THE  LINDEN  WALK. 

satisfactory  to  themselyeSy  and  I  hope,  also,  to  the  digestions 
of  the  Naturforschers. 

Daring  the  meeting  much  gaiety  was  going  on  at  Berlin. 
One  evening  previous  to  our  parties,  I  was  walking  in  the 
Linden  Walk  with  Humboldt,  discussing  the  singularities  of 
several  of  our  learned  acquaintance.  My  companion  made 
many  acute  and  very  amusing  remarks ;  some  of  these  were 
a  little  caustic,  but  not  one  was  ill-natured.  I  had  contributed 
a  very  small  and  much  less  brilliant  share  to  this  conversa- 
tion, when  the  clock  striking,  warned  us  that  the  hour  for  our 
visits  had  arrived.  I  never  shall  forget  the  expression  of 
archness  which  lightened  up  Humboldt's  countenance  when 
shaking  my  hand  he  said,  in  English,  ''My  dear  friend,  I 
think  it  may  be  as  well  that  we  should  not  speak  of  each 
other  until  we  meet  again."  We  then  each  kept  our  re- 
spective engagements,  and  met  again  at  the  most  recherche 
of  all,  a  concert  at  Mendelssohn'& 


Of  the  Buonaparte  Family, 

From  my  father's  house  on  the  coast,  near  Teignmouth,  we 
could,  with  a  telescope,  see  every  ship  which  entered  Torbay. 
When  the  "  BeUerophon "  anchored,  the  news  was  rapidly 
spread  that  Napoleon  was  on  board.  On  hearing  the  rumour, 
I  put  a  small  telescope  into  my  pocket,  and,  mounting  my 
horse,  rode  over  to  Torbay.  A  crowd  of  boats  surrounded  the 
ship,  then  six  miles  distant ;  but^  by  the  aid  of  my  glass,  I 
saw  upon  the  quarter-deck  that  extraordinary  man,  with  many 
members  of  whose  family  I  subsequently  became  acquainted. 
Of  those  who  are  no  more  I  may  without  impropriety  say  a 
few  words. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  several  branches  of  the  family 


LUCIEN  BUONAPA-RTK  203 

of  Napoleon  Buonaparte  arose  under  the  following  circum- 
Rtances: — 

When  his  elder  brother  Lueien,  to  avoid  the  necessity  of 
accepting  a  kingdom,  fled  from  his  imperial  brother,  and  took 
refuge  in  England,  his  position  was  either  not  well  under- 
stood, or,  perhaps,  was  entirely  mistaken.  Lucien  seems  to 
have  been  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  our  Government, 
and  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  England  under  a  species  of 
espionage. 

Political  parties  then  ran  high,  and  he  did  not  meet  with 
those  attentions  which  his  varied  and  highly-cultivated  tastes, 
especially  in  the  fine  arts,  entitled  him  to  receive,  as  a  stranger 
in  a  foreign  land. 

A  family  connection  of  mine,  residing  in  Worcestershire, 
was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  Lucien  Buonaparte.  Thus,  in 
my  occasional  visits  to  my  brother-in-law's  place,  I  became 
acquainted  with  the  Prince  of  Canino.  In  after -years, 
when  he  occasionally  visited  London,  I  had  generally  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  him. 

In  1828  I  met  at  Some  the  eldest  son  of  Lucien,  who  intro- 
duced me  to  his  sisters,  Lady  Dudley  Stuart  and  the  Prin- 
cess Gabrielli. 

Li  the  same  year  I  became  acquainted,  at  Bologna,  with 
the  Princess  d'Ercolano,  another  daughter  of  Lucien,  whom  I 
afterwards  met  at  Florence,  at  the  palace  of  her  uncle  Louisi 
the  former  king  of  Holland.  During  a  residence  of  several 
months  in  that  city  I  was  a  frequent  guest  at  the  family  table 
of  the  Compte  St  Leu.  One  of  his  sons  had  married  the 
Princess  Charlotte,  the  second  daughter  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
a  most  accomplished,  excellent,  and  charming  person.  They 
reminded  mc  much  of  a  sensible  English  couple,  in  the  best 
class  of  English  society.     Both  had  great  taste  in  the  fine 


204  LOUIS,  THE  KING  OF  HOLLAND. 

arts.  The  prince  had  a  workshop  at  the  top  of  the  palace, 
in  which  he  had  a  variety  of  tools  and  a  lithographic  printing 
press.  Occasionally,  in  the  course  of  their  morning  drives, 
some  picturesque  scene,  in  that  beautiful  country,  would 
arrest  their  attention.  Stopping  the  carriage,  they  would 
select  a  favourable  spot,  and  the  princess  would  then  make  a 
sketch  of  it 

At  other  times  they  would  spend  the  evening,  the  prince  in 
extemporizing  an  imaginary  scene,  which  he  described  to  his 
wife,  who,  with  admirable  skill,  embodied  upon  paper  the 
tasteful  conceptions  of  her  husband.  These  sketches  then 
passed  up  to  the  workshop  of  the  Prince,  were  transferred  to 
stone,  and  in  a  few  days  lithographic  impressions  descended 
to  the  drawing-room.  I  fortunately  possess  some  of  these 
impressions,  which  I  value  highly,  not  only  as  the  productions 
of  an  amiable  and  most  accomplished  lady,  but  of  one  who 
did  not  shrink  from  the  severer  duties  of  life,  and  died  in  ful- 
filling them. 

After  the  melancholy  loss  of  her  husband,  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte remained  with  her  father,  who  resided  at  one  period  in 
the  Regent's  Park,  where  I  from  time  to  time  paid  my  respects 
to  them.  Occasionally  I  received  them  at  my  own  house. 
One  summer  letters  from  Florence  reached  them,  announcing 
the  dangerous  illness  of  the  Gomte  de  St  Leu.  The  daughter 
of  Joseph  immediately  set  out  alone  for  Florence  to  minister 
to  the  comfort  of  her  uncle  and  father-in-law.  On  her  re- 
turn from  Italy  she  was  attacked  by  cholera  and  died  in  the 
south  of  France. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


EXPERIENCE   BY  WATER. 


Shooting  Sea-birda — ^Walking  on  the  Water — A  Screw  being  .loose — ^Tbe 
Author  nearly  drowned — Adventure  in  the  Thames  THumel — Descent  in 
a  Diving-bell — Plan  for  Submarine  Navigation. 

The  grounds  surrounding  my  father's  house,  near  Teign- 
mouth,  extended  to  the  sea.  The  cliffs,  though  lofty,  admitted 
at  one  point  of  a  descent  to  the  beach,  of  which  I  very  fre- 
quently availed  myself  for  the  purpose  of  bathing.  One 
Christmas  when  I  was  about  sixteen  I  determined  to  see  if  I 
could  manage  a  gun.  I  accordingly  took  my  father's  fowling, 
piece,  and  climbing  with  it  down  to  the  beach,  I  began  to 
look  about  for  the  large  sea-birds  which  I  thought  I  might 
have  a  chance  of  hitting. 

I  fired  several  charges  in  vain.  At  last,  however,  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  hit  a  sea-bird  called  a  diver ;  but  it  fell 
at  some  distance  into  the  sea :  I  had  no  dog  to  get  it  out  for 
me ;  the  sea  was  rough,  and  no  boat  was  within  reach ;  also  it 
was  snowing. 

So  I  took  advantage  of  a  slight  recess  in  the  rock  to  protect 
my  clothes  from  the  snow,  undressed,  and  swam  out  after  my 
game,  which  I  succeeded  in  capturing.  The  next  day,  having 
got  the  cook  to  roast  it,  I  tried  to  eat  it ;  but  this  was  by  no 
means  an  agreeable  task,  so  for  the  future  I  left  the  sea-birds 
to  the  quiet  possession  of  their  own  dominion. 


206  WALKING  IN  THE  WATER. 

Shortly  after  this,  whilst  residing  on  the  beautiful  banks  of 
the  Darty  I  constantly  indulged  in  swimming  in  its  waters. 
One  day  an  idea  struck  me,  that  it  was  possible,  by  the  aid  of 
some  simple  mechanism,  to  walk  upon  the  water,  or  at  least 
to  keep  in  a  vertical  position,  and  have  head,  shoulders,  and 
arms  above  water. 

My  plan  was  to  attach  to  each  foot  two  boards  closely  con- 
nected together  by  hinges  themselves  fixed  to  the  sole  of  the 
shoe.  My  theory  was,  that  in  lifting  up  my  leg,  as  in  the  act 
of  walking,  the  two  boards  would  close  up  towards  each 
other ;  whilst  on  pushing  down  my  foot,  the  water  would  rush 
between  the  boards,  cause  them  to  open  out  into  a  fiat  surface, 
and  thus  offer  greater  resistance  to  my  sinking  in  the  water. 

I  took  a  pair  of  boots  for  my  experiment,  and  cutting  up 
a  couple  of  old  useless  volumes  with  very  thick  binding,  I 
fixed  the  boards  by  hinges  in  the  way  I  proposed.  I  placed 
some  obstacle  between  the  two  fiaps  of  each  book  to  prevent 
them  from  approaching  too  nearly  to  each  other  so  as  to 
impede  their  opening  by  the  pressure  of  the  water. 

I  now  went  down  to  the  river,  and  thus  prepared,  walked 
into  the  water.  I  then  struck  out  to  swim  as  usual,  and 
found  little  difficulty.  Only  it  seemed  necessary  to  keep  the 
feet  farther  apart  I  now  tried  the  grand  experiment  For 
a  time,  by  active  exertion  of  my  legs,  I  kept  my  head  and 
shoulders  above  water  and  sometimes  also  my  arms.  I  was 
now  fioating  down  the  river  with  the  receding  tide,  sustained 
in  a  vertical  position  with  a  very  slight  exertion  of  force. 

But  unfortunately  one  pair  of  my  hinges  got  out  of  order, 
and  refused  to  perform  its  share  of  the  propulsion.  The 
result  was  that  I  became  lop-sided.  I  was  therefore  obliged 
to  swim,  which  I  now  did  with  considerable  exertion ;  but 
another  difficulty  soon  occurred,  —  the   instrument  on  the 


DANGER  IN  THE  THAMES  TUNNEL.  207 

disabled  side  refused  to  do  its  share  in  propelling  me.  The 
tide  was  rapidly  carrying  me  down  the  river ;  my  own  exer- 
tions alone  would  have  made  me  revolye  in  a  small  circle, 
consequently  I  was  obliged  to  swim  in  a  spiral.  It  was  very 
difficult  to  calculate  the  curve  I  was  describing  upon  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  still  more  so  to  know  at  what  point, 
if  at  any,  I  might  hope  to  reach  its  banks  again.  I  became 
very  much  fatigued  by  my  eflTorts,  and  endeavoured  to  relieve 
myself  for  a  time  by  resuming  the  vertical  position. 

After  floating,  or  rather  struggling  for  some  time,  my  feet 
at  last  touched  the  bottom.  With  some  difficulty  and  much 
exertion  I  now  gained  the  bank,  on  which  I  lay  down  in  a 
state  of  great  exhaustion. 

This  experiment  satisfied  me  of  the  danger  as  well  as  of 
the  practicability  of  my  plan,  and  ever  after,  when  in  the 
water,  I  preferred  trusting  to  my  own  unassisted  powers. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1827,  as  I  anticipated  a  long 
absence  from  England,  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Thames  Tunnel, 
in  the  construction  of  which  I  took  a  great  interest  My 
eldest  son,  then  about  twelve  years  of  age,  accompanied  me 
in  this  visit.  I  fortunately  found  the  younger  Brunei  at  the 
works,  who  kindly  took  us  with  him  into  the  workings. 

We  stood  upon  a  timber  platform,  distant  about  fifty  feet 
fix)m  the  shield,  which  was  full  of  busy  workmen,  each  actively 
employed  in  his  own  cell.  As  we  were  conversing  together, 
I  observed  some  commotion  in  the  upper  cell  on  the  right 
hand  side.  From  its  higher  comer  there  entered  a  consider- 
able stream  of  liquid  mud.  Brunei  ran  directly  to  the  shield, 
a  line  of  workmen  was  instantly  formed,  and  whatever  tools 
or  timber  was  required  was  immediately  conveyed  to  the  spot. 

I  observed  the  progress  with  some  anxiety,  since  but  a 
short  time  before  a  similar  occurrence  had  been  the  prelude 


208         ON  THE  PROPER  TIME  FOR  RUNNING  AWAY. 

to  the  inundation  of  the  whole  tunnel.  I  remained  watching 
the  fit  time,  if  necessary,  to  nm  away ;  but  also  noticing  what 
effect  the  apparent  danger  had  on  my  son.  After  a  short 
time  it  was  clear  that  the  ingress  of  liquid  mud  had  been 
checked,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  Brunei  returned  to  me, 
having  this  time  succeeded  in  stopping  up  the  breach.  I  then 
inquired  what  was  really  the  nature  of  the  danger  we  had 
escaped.  Brunei  told  me  that  unless  himself  or  Gravatt  had 
been  present,  the  whole  tunnel  would  in  less  than  ten  minutes 
have  been  full  of  water.  The  next  day  I  embarked  for 
Holland,  and  in  about  a  week  after  I  read  in  GaUgnani's 
newspaper,  that  the  Thames  had  again  broken  into  the 
tunnel ;  that  five  or  six  of  the  workmen  had  been  drowned, 
and  that  Brunei  himself  had  escaped  with  great  difficulty  by 
swimming. 

In  1818,  during  a  visit  to  Plymouth,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  going  down  in  a  diving-bell :  I  was  accompanied  by  two 
fijends  and  the  usual  director  of  that  machine. 

The  diving-bell  in  which  I  descended  was  a  cast-iron  vessel 
about  six  feet  long  by  four  feet  and  a  half  wide,  and  five  feet 
eight  inches  high.  In  the  top  of  the  bell  there  were  twelve 
circular  apertures,  each  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  filled  by 
thick  plate-glass  fixed  by  water-tight  cement.  Exactly  in 
the  centre  there  were  a  number  of  small  holes  through  which 
the  air  was  continually  pumped  in  from  above. 

At  the  ends  of  the  bell  are  two  seats,  placed  at  such  a 
height,  that  the  top  of  the  head  is  but  a  few  inches  below  the 
top  of  the  bell;  these  will  conveniently  hold  two  persons 
each.  Exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  bell,  and  about  six 
inches  above  its  lower  edge,  is  placed  a  narrow  board,  on 
which  the  feet  of  the  divers  rest.  On  one  side,  nearly  on  a 
level  vrith  the  shoulders,  is  a  small  shelf,  with  a  ledge  to 


SENaA^TIONS  IN  A  DIVING-BELL.  209 

contain  a  few  tools,  chalk  for  writing  messages,  and  a  ring  to 
which  a  small  rope  is  tied.  A  board  is  connected  with  this 
rope ;  and  after  writing  any  orders  on  the  board  with  a  piece 
of  chalk,  on  giving  it  a  pull,  the  superintendent  above,  round 
whose  arm  the  other  end  of  the  rope  is  fastened,  will  draw  it 
up  to  the  surface,  and,  if  necessary,  return  an  answer  by  the 
same  conveyance. 

In  order  to  enter  the  bell,  it  is  raised  about  three  or  four 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water ;  and  the  boat^  in  which 
the  persons  who  propose  descending  are  seated,  is  brought 
immediately  under  it;  the  bell  is  then  lowered,  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  step  upon  the  foot-board  within  it;  and 
having  taken  their  seats,  the  boat  is  removed,  and  the  bell 
gradufidly  descends  to  the  water. 

On  touching  the  sur&ce,  and  thus  cutting  oiF  the  com- 
munication with  the  external  air,  a  peculiar  sensation  is  per- 
ceived in  the  ears ;  it  is  not,  however,  painfuL  The  attention 
is  soon  directed  to  another  object  The  air  rushing  in 
through  the  valve  at  the  top  of  the  bell  overflows,  and 
escapes  with  a  considerable  bubbling  noise  under  the  sides. 
The  motion  of  the  bell  proceeds  slowly,  and  almost  imper- 
ceptibly; and,  on  looking  at  the  glass  lenses  close  to  the 
head,  when  the  top  of  the  machine  just  reaches  the  surface  of 
the  water,  it  may  be  perceived,  by  means  of  the  little  im- 
purities which  float  about  in  it,  flowing  into  the  recesses  con- 
taining the  glasses.  A  pain  now  begins  to  be  felt  in  the  ears, 
arising  from  the  increased  external  pressure ;  this  may  some- 
times be  removed  by  the  act  of  yawning,  or  by  closing  the 
nostrils  and  mouth,  and  attempting  to  force  air  through  the 
ears.  As  soon  as  the  equilibrium  is  established  the  pain 
ceases,  but  recommences  almost  immediately  by  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  descent    On  retarm'ng,  the  same  sensation  of 

p 


210  OBSERVATIONS  IN  DIVING-BELL. 

pain  is  felt  in  the  ears ;  but  it  now  arises  from  the  dense  air 
which  had  filled  them  endeavouring,  as  the  pressure  is  re- 
moved, to  force  its  way  out. 

If  the  water  is  clear,  and  not  much  disturbed,  the  light  in 
the  bell  is  very  considerable ;  and,  even  at  the  depth  of  twenty 
feety  was  more  than  is  usual  in  many  sitting-rooms.  Within 
the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  feet,  the  stones  at  the  bottom 
began  to  be  visibla  The  pain  in  the  ears  still  continues  to 
occur  at  intervals,  until  the  descent  of  the  bell  terminates  by 
its  resting  on  the  ground.  The  light  is  sufficient^  after  passing 
through  twenty  feet  of  sea  water,  even  for  delicate  experi- 
ments ;  and  a  far  less  quantity  is  enough  for  the  work  which 
is  usually  performed  in  those  situations. 

The  temperatures  of  the  hand  and  of  the  mouth,  under  the 
tongue,  were  measured  by  a  thermometer,  but  they  did  not 
seem  to  diflTer  from  those  which  had  been  determined  by  the 
same  instrument  previous  to  the  descent ;  at  leasts  the  differ- 
ence did  not  amount  to  one-sixth  of  a  degree  of  Fahrenheit's 
scale.     The  pulse  was  more  frequent. 

A  small  magnetic  needle  did  not  appear  to  have  entirely 
lost  its  directive  power,  when  placed  on  the  footboard  in  the 
middle  of  the  bell ;  but  its  direction  was  not  the  same  as  that 
which  it  indicated  on  shore.  This  was  determined  by  direct^ 
ing,  by  means  of  signals,  the  workmen  above  to  move  the 
bell  in  the  direction  of  one  of  the  co-ordinates ;  a  stick  then 
being  pressed  against  the  bottom  drew  a  line  parallel  to  that 
co-ordinate,  its  direction  by  compass  was  ascertained  in  the 
bell,  and  the  direction  of  the  co-ordinate  was  determined  on 
returning  to  the  surface  after  leaving  the  belL 

Signals  are  communicated  by  the  workmen  in  the  bell  to 
those  above,  by  striking  against  the  side  of  the  bell  with  a 
hammer.    Those  most  frequently  wanted  are  indicated  by 


SUBMARINE  NAVIGATION.  211 

the  fewest  number  of  blows ;  thus  a  single  stroke  is  to  require 
more  air.  The  sound  is  heard  very  distinctly  by  those  above ; 
but,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  to  persons  unaccustomed  to  it, 
the  force  with  which  a  weighty  hammer  is  driven  against  so 
brittle  a  material  as  cast  iron  is  a  Uttle  alarming. 

After  ascending  a  few  inches  from  the  bottom,  the  air  in 
the  bell  became  slightly  obscured.  At  the  distance  of  a  few 
feet  this  appearance  increased.  Before  it  had  half  reached 
the  surface,  it  was  evident  that  the  whole  atmosphere  it  con- 
tained was  filled  with  a  mist  or  cloud,  which  at  last  began  to 
-  condense  in  large  drops  on  the  whole  of  the  internal  surface. 

The  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  seems  to  be,  that  on 
the  rising  of  the  bell  the  pressure  on  the  air  within  being 
diminished  by  a  weight  equal  to  several  feet  of  water,  it  began 
to  expand ;  and  some  portion  of  it  escaping  under  the  edges 
of  the  bell,  reduced  the  temperature  of  that  which  remained 
so  much,  that  it  was  unable  to  retain,  in  the  state  of  invisible 
vapour,  the  water  which  it  had  previously  held  in  solution. 
Thus  the  same  principle  which  constantly  produces  clouds  in 
the  atmosphere  filled  the  diving-bell  with  mist 

This  first  led  me  to  consider  the  much  more  extensive 
question  of  submarine  navigation.  I  was  aware  that  Fulton 
had  already  descended  in  a  diving-vessel,  and  remained  under 
water  during  several  hours.  He  also  carried  down  a  copper 
sphere  containing  one  cubic  foot  of  space  into  which  he  had 
forced  two  hundred  atmospheres.  With  these  means  he 
remained  under  water  and  moved  about  at  pleasure  during 
four  hours. 

But  a  closed  vessel  is  obviously  of  little  use  for  the  most 
important  purposes  to  which  submarine  navigation  would  be 
applied  in  case  of  war.  In  the  article  Diving  Bell,  published 
in  1826,  in  the  'Encyclopedia  Metropolitana,'  I  gave  a  de- 

p2 


212  OPEN  SUBMARINE  VESSEL. 

scription  and  drawings  of  an  open  submarine  vessel  which 
would  contain  sufficient  air  for  the  consumption  of  four  per- 
sons during  more  than  two  days.  A  few  years  ago,  I  under- 
stand, experiments  were  made  in  the  Seine  at  Paris,  on  a 
similar  kind  of  open  diving-yessel.  Such  a  vessel  could  be 
propelled  by  a  screw,  and  might  enter,  without  being  sus- 
pected, any  harbour,  and  place  any  amount  of  explosive 
matter  under  the  bottoms  of  ships  at  anchor. 

Such  means  of  attack  would  render  even  iron  and  iron-clad 
ships  unsafe  when  blockading  a  port.     For  though  chains 
were  kept  constantly  passing  under  their  keels,  it  would  yet  • 
be  possible  to  moor  explosive  magazines  at  some  distance 
below,  which  would  eflTectually  destroy  them. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

EXPEBIENCB  BY   FIBE. 

Baked  in  an  Oven — A  Living  Volcano — Vesuvius  in  action— Carried  up  the 
Cone  of  Ashes  in  a  Chair — View  of  the  Crater  in  a  Dark  Night — Sun- 
rise— Descent  by  Ropes  and  Rolling  into  the  great  Crater — ^Watched  the 
small  Crater  in  active  eruption  at  intervals — Measured  a  Base  of  330  feet — 
Depth  of  great  Crater  670  feet — Descent  into  small  Crater — A  Lake  of 
red-hot  Boiling  Lava — Regained  the  great  Crater  with  the  sacrifice  of 
my  Boots — Lunched  on  Biscuits  and  Irish  Whisky — Visit  to  the  Hot 
Springs  of  Ischia — ^Towns  destroyed  by  Earthquake — Coronets  of  Smoke 
projected  by  Vesuvius — Artificial  Mode  of  producing  them — Fire-damp 
visited  in  Welsh  Coal-mine  in  company  with  Professor  Moll. 

Baked  in  an  Oven, 
Calling  one  morning  upon  Chantrey,  I  met  Captain  Kater 
and  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  the  President  of  the  Koyal 
Academy.  Chantrey  was  engaged  at  that  period  in  casting  a 
large  bronze  statue.  An  oven  of  considerable  size  had  been 
built  for  the  purpose  of  drying  the  moulds.  I  made  several 
inquiries  about  it,  and  Chantrey  kindly  offered  to  let  me  pay 
it  a  visit,  and  thus  ascertain  by  my  own  feelings  the  effects 
of  high  temperature  on  the  human  body. 

I  willingly  accepted  the  proposal,  and  Captain  Kater 
offered  to  accompany  me.  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  who  was 
suffering  from  indisposition,  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  join 
our  party.  In  fact»  he  died  on  the  second  or  third  day  after 
our  experiment 

The  iron  folding-doors  of  the  small  room  or  oven  were 


214  VESUVIUS— CORONETS  OF  SMOKE. 

opened.  Captain  Kater  and  myself  entered,  and  they  were 
then  closed  upon  us.  The  further  comer  of  the  room,  which 
was  paved  with  squared  stones,  was  visibly  of  a  dull-red  heat. 
The  thermometer  marked,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  265°.  The 
pulse  was  quickened,  and  I  ought  to  have  counted  but  did 
not  count  the  number  of  inspirations  per  minute.  Perspiration 
commenced  immediately  and  was  very  copious.  We  re- 
mained, I  believe,  about  five  or  six  minutes  without  very  great 
discomfort,  and  I  experienced  no  subsequent  inconvenience 
from  the  result  of  the  experiment. 

A  lAving  Volcano. 

I  have  never  been  so  fortunate  as  to  be  conscious  of  having 
experienced  the  least  shock  of  an  earthquake,  although, 
when  a  town  had  been  destroyed  in  Ischia  I  hastened  on  from 
Bome  in  the  hope  of  getting  a  sUght  shake.  My  passion 
was  disappointed,  so  I  consoled  myself  by  a  flirtation  with  a 
volcano. 

The  situation  of  my  apartments  during  my  residence  at 
Naples  enabled  me  constantly  to  see  the  cone  of  Vesuvius, 
and  the  continual  projections  of  matter  from  its  crater. 
Amongst  these  were  occasionally  certain  globes  of  air,  or  of 
some  gas,  which,  being  shot  upwards  to  a  great  height  above 
the  cone,  spread  out  into  huge  coronets  of  smoke,  having  a 
singular  motion  amongst  their  particles. 

A  similar  phenomenon  sometimes  occurs  on  a  small  scale 
during  the  firing  of  heavy  ordnance.  I  have  frequently 
seen  such  at  Plymouth  and  elsewhere ;  but  I  was  not  satisfied 
about  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon.  I  was  told  that  it  oc- 
curred more  frequently  if  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  were  rubbed 
with  grease  ;  but  this  did  not  always  succeed. 

Soon  after  my  return  to  London  I  made  a  kind  of  drum,  by 


ARTIFICIAL  IMITATION.  215 

stretching  wet  parchment  over  a  large  tin  funnel.  On  direct- 
ing the  point  of  the  funnel  at  a  candle  placed  a  few  feet  dis- 
tant, and  giving  a  smart  blow  upon  the  parchment,  it  is 
observed  that  the  candle  is  immediately  extinguished. 

This  arises  from  what  is  called  an  air  shot  In  fact,  the 
air  in  the  tubular  part  is  projected  bodily  forward,  and  no 
blows  out  the  candle.  The  statements  about  persons  being 
killed  by  cannon  balls  passing  close  to  but  not  touching 
them,  if  true,  are  probably  the  results  of  air  shots. 

Wishing  to  trace  the  motions  of  such  air  shots,  I  added 
two  small  tubes  towards  the  large  end  of  the  tin  funnel,  in 
order  that  I  might  fill  it  with  smoke,  and  thus  trace  more  dis- 
tinctly the  progress  of  the  ball  of  air. 

To  my  great  delight  the  first  blow  produced  a  beautiful 
coronet  of  smoke,  exactly  resembling,  on  a  small  scale,  the 
exj)losions  from  cannon  or  the  still  more  attractive  ones  from 
Vesuvius. 

If  phosphoretted  hydrogen  or  any  other  gas,  which  takes 
fire  in  air,  were  thus  projected  upwards,  a  very  singular  kind 
of  fire-work  would  be  produced. 

It  is  possible  in  dark  nights  or  in  fogs  that  by  such  means 
signals  might  be  made  to  communicate  news  or  to  warn 
vessels  of  danger. 

Vesuvius  was  then  in  a  state  of  moderate  activity.  It  had 
a  huge  cone  of  ashes  on  its  summit,  surrounding  an  extensive 
crater  of  great  depth.  In  one  comer  of  this  was  a  smaller 
crater,  quite  on  a  diminutive  scale,  which  from  time  to  time 
ejected  red-hot  fragments  of  lava  occasionally  to  the  height  of 
from  a  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  summit  of 
the  mountain. 

I  had  taken  apartments  in  the  Chiaja,  just  opposite  the  vol- 
cano, in  order  that  I  might  watch  it  with  a  telescoiie.    In  fact, 


216  ASCENT  TO  CRATER  BY  XIGHT. 

as  I  lay  in  my  bed  I  had  an  ezcdlent  Tiew  of  the  mountain. 
My  next  step  was  to  consolt  with  S(d?atori,  the  most  expe- 
rienced of  the  goides,  from  whom  I  had  purchased  a  good 
many  minerals,  as  to  the  possibility  <^  getting  a  peep  down 
the  volcano's  throat 

Salvatori  undertook  to  report  to  me  from  time  to  time 
the  state  of  the  mountain,  round  the  base  of  which  I  made 
frequent  excursions.  After  about  a  fortnight,  the  explosions 
were  more  regular  and  uniform,  and  Salvatori  assured  me 
that  all  the  usual  known  indications  led  him  to  think  that  it 
was  a  fit  time  for  my  expedition.  As  I  wished  to  see  as 
much  as  possible,  I  made  arrangements  to  economize  my 
strength  by  using  horses  or  mules  to  carry  me  wherever  they 
oould  go.  Where  they  could  not  carry  me,  as  for  instance, 
up  the  steep  slope  of  the  cone  of  ashes,  I  employed  men  to 
convey  me  in  a  chair. 

By  these  means,  I  saw  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  one 
day  a  good  deal  of  the  upper  part  of  the  mountain,  then  took 
a  few  hours'  repose  in  a  hut,  and  reached  the  summit  of  the 
cone  long  before  sunrise. 

It  was  still  almost  dark :  we  stood  upon  the  irregular  edge 
of  a  vast  gulf  spread  out  below  at  the  depth  of  about  five 
hundred  feet  The  plain  at  the  bottom  would  have  been 
invisible  but  for  an  irregular  network  of  bright-red  cracks 
spread  over  the  whole  of  its  surface.  Now  and  then  the 
silence  was  broken  by  a  rush  upwards  of  a  flight  of  red-hot 
scoria  from  the  diminutive  crater  within  the  large  one. 
These  missiles,  however,  although  projected  high  above  the 
summit  of  the  cone,  never  extended  themselves  much  beyond 
the  small  cavity  from  which  they  issued. 

Those  who  have  seen  the  blood-vessels  of  their  own  eye  by 
the  aid  of  artificial  light,  will  have  seen  on  a  small  scale  a 


SUNRISE  PROM  THE  SUMMIT.  217 

perfect  resemblance  of  the  plain  which  at  that  time  formed 
the  bottom  of  the  great  crater  of  Vesuvius. 

As  the  morning  advanced  the  light  increased,  and  some 
^time  before  sunrise  we  had  completed  the  tour  of  the  top  of 
the  great  crater.  Then  followed  that  glorious  sight — ^the 
sun  when  seen  rising  from  the  top  of  some  lofiy  mountain. 

I  now  began  to  speculate  upon  the  means  of  getting  a 
nearer  view  of  the  little  miniature  volcano  in  action  at  one 
comer  of  the  gulf  beneath  us.  We  had  brought  ropes  with 
us,  and  I  had  observed,  in  our  tour  round  the  crater,  every 
dike  of  congealed  lava  by  which  the  massive  cone  was  split 
These  presented  buttresses  with  frequent  ledges  or  huge  steps 
by  which  I  hoped,  with  the  aid  of  ropes,  to  descend  into  the 
Tartarus  below. 

Having  consulted  with  our  chief  guide  Salvatori,  I  found 
that  he  was  unwilling  to  accompany  us,  and  proposed  remain- 
ing with  the  other  guides  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  crater. 
Upon  the  whole,  I  was  not  discontented  with  the  arrangement^ 
because  it  left  a  responsible  person  to  keep  the  other  guides 
in  order,  and  also  sufficient  force  to  lift  us  up  bodily  by  the 
ropes  if  that  should  become  necessary. 

The  abruptness  of  the  rocky  buttresses  compelled  us  to  use 
ropes,  but  the  attempt  to  traverse  the  steep  inclines  of  light 
ashes  and  of  fine  sand  would  have  been  more  dangerous  from 
the  risk  of  being  engulfed  in  them. 

Having  well  examined  the  several  disadvantages  of  these 
rougli-hewn  irregular  Titanic  stairs,  I  selected  one  which 
seemed  the  most  promising  for  fiBu^ilitating  our  descent  into 
the  crater.  I  was  encumbered  with  one  of  Troughton's 
heavy  barometers,  strapped  to  my  back,  looking  much  like 
(Jupid's  quiver,  though  probably  rather  heavier.  In  my  {x>cket 
I  had  an  excellent  box  sextant,  and  in  a  rough  kind  of  basket 


218  DEJ5CENT  INTO  THE  CKATEK. 

two  or  three  thermometers,  a  measuring  tape,  and  a  glass 
bottle  enclosed  in  a  leather  case,  commonly  called  a  pocket- 
pistol,  accompanied  by  a  few  biscuits. 

We  began  our  descent  by  the  aid  of  two  ropes,  each  sup-* 
ported  above  by  two  guides.  I  proceeded,  trusting  to  my 
rope  to  step  wherever  I  could,  and  then  cautiously  holding  on 
by  the  rope  to  spring  down  to  the  next  ledge.  In  this  manner 
we  descended  until  we  arrived  at  the  last  projecting  ledge  of 
the  dike.  Nothing  then  remained  for  us  but  to  slide  down  a 
steep  and  lengthened  incline  of  fine  sand.  Fortunately,  the 
sand  itself  was  not  very  deep,  and  was  supported  by  some  solid 
material  beneath  it  I  soon  found  that  it  was  impossible  to 
Stand,  so  I  sat  down  upon  this  moving  mass,  which  evidently 
intended  to  accompany  us  in  our  journey.  At  first,  to  my 
great  dismay,  I  was  relieved  from  the  care  of  my  barometer, 
of  which  the  runaway  sand  immediately  took  charge.  I  then 
found  myself  getting  deeper  and  deeper  in  the  sand,  and  stiU 
accelerating  my  downward  velocity. 

Gravity  had  at  last  done  its  work  and  became  powerless.  I 
soon  dug  myself  out  of  my  sandy  couch,  and  ruslied  to  my 
faithful  bai*ometer  lying  at  some  distance  firom  me  with  its 
head  just  unburied.  Fortunately,  it  was  uninjured.  My 
companion,  with  more  skill  or  good  fortune,  or  with  less  in- 
cumbrances, had  safely  alighted  on  the  burning  plain  we  now 
stood  upon. 

The  area  of  this  plain,  for  it  was  perfectly  flat,  was  in 
shape  somewhat  elliptical.  The  surface  consisted  of  a  black 
scoriacious  rock,  reticulated  with  ditches  from  one  to  three 
feet  wide,  intersecting  each  other  in  every  direction.  From 
some  of  these,  fumes  not  of  the  most  agreeable  odour  were 
issuing.  All  those  above  two  feet  deep  showed  that  at  that 
depth  below  us  everything  was  of  a  dull-red  heat     It  was 


MEASUREMENT  OF  A  BASE.  219 

these  ditches  with  red-hot  bottoms  which,  in  the  darkness  of 
the  nighty  had  presented  the  singular  spectacle  I  described 
as  having  witnessed  on  the  evening  before. 

At  one  extremity  of  this  oval  plain  there  was  a  small  cone, 
from  which  the  eruptions  before  described  appeared  to  issue. 

My  first  step,  after  examining  the  few  instruments  I  had 
brought  with  me,  was  to  select  a  spot  upon  which  to  measure 
a  base  for  ascertaining  the  depth  of  the  crater  from  its  upper 


Having  decided  upon  my  base  line,  I  took  with  my  sextant 
the  angle  of  elevation  of  the  rim  of  the  crater  above  a  remark- 
able spot  on  a  level  with  my  eye.  Then  fixing  my  walking- 
stick  into  a  little  crack  in  the  scoria,  I  proceeded  to  measure 
with  a  tape  a  base  line  of  340  feet.  Arrived  at  this  point,  I 
again  took  the  angle  of  elevation  of  the  same  part  of  the  rim 
from  the  same  remarkable  spot  on  a  level  with  the  eye. 
Then,  by  way  of  veriGcation,  I  remeasured  my  base  line  and 
found  it  only  difiered  from  the  former  measure  by  somewhat 
less  than  one  foot  But  my  walking-stick,  which  had  not 
penetrated  the  crack  more  than  a  few  inches,  was  actually  in 
flames. 

Having  noted  down  these  hctSy  including  the  state  of  the 
thermometer  and  barometer,  in  my  pocket-book,  I  took  first 
a  survey  and  then  a  tour  about  my  fiery  domain.  I  after- 
wards found,  from  the  result  of  this  measurement,  that  our 
base  line  was  570  feet  below  one  of  the  lowest  points  of  the 
edge  of  the  crater.  Having  collected  a  few  mineral  speci- 
mens, I  applied  myself  to  observe  and  register  the  eruptions 
of  the  little  embryo  volcano  at  the  further  extremity  of  the 
elliptical  plain. 

These  periodical  eruptions  interested  me  very  much.  I  pro- 
ceeded to  observe  and  register  them,  and  found  they  occurred 


220  DESCENT  INTO  SMALL  ACTIVE  CRATER. 

at  tolerably  regular  intervals.  At  first,  I  performed  this 
operation  at  a  respectful  distance  and  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
projected  red-hot  scoria.  But  as  I  acquired  confidence  in 
their  general  regularity,  I  approached  from  time  to  time 
more  nearly  to  the  little  cone  of  scoria  produced  by  its  own 
eruptions. 

I  now  perceived  an  opening  in  this  little  cone  close  to  the 
perpendicular  rock  of  the  interior  of  the  great  crater.  I  was 
very  anxious  to  see  real  fluid  lava ;  so  immediately  after  an 
eruption,  I  rushed  to  the  opening  and  thus  got  within  the 
subsidiary  crater.  But  my  curiosity  was  not  gratified,  for  I 
observed,  about  forty  or  fifty  feet  below  me,  a  huge  project- 
ing rock,  which  being  somewhat  in  advance,  effectively  pre- 
vented me  from  seeing  the  lava  lake,  if  any  such  existed.  I 
then  retreated  to  a  respectful  distance  from  this  infant  volcano 
to  wait  for  the  next  explosion. 

I  continued  to  note  the  intervals  of  time  between  these 
jets  of  red-hot  matter,  and  found  that  from  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes  was  the  range  of  the  intervals  of  repose.  Having 
once  more  reconnoitred  the  descent  into  the  little  volcano,  I 
seized  the  opportunity  of  the  terlnination  of  one  of  the  most 
considerable  of  its  eruptions  to  run  towards  the  gap  and  cau- 
tiously to  pick  my  way  down  to  the  rock  which  hid  fix)m  me, 
as  I  supposed,  the  liquid  lava.  I  was  armed  with  two  phials, 
one  of  common  smelling  salts,  and  the  other  containing  a 
solution  of  ammonia.  On  reaching  the  rock,  I  found  it  pro- 
jected over  a  lake  which  was  really  filled  by  liquid  fiery  lava. 
I  immediately  laid  myself  down,  and  looking  over  its  edge, 
saw,  with  great  delight,  lava  actually  in  a  state  of  fusion. 

Presently  I  observed  a  small  bubble  swelling  up  on  the 
surface  of  the  fluid  lava:  it  became  gradually  larger  and 
larger,  but  did  not  burst.    I  had  some  vague  suspicion  that 


WAVES  IN  LAKE  OP  FLUID  LAVA.  221 

this  indicated  a  coming  eruption ;  but  on  looking  at  my  watch, 
I  was  assured  that  only  one  minute  had  elapsed  since  the  ter- 
mination of  the  last  I  therefore  watched  its  progress ;  after  a 
time  the  bubble  slowly  subsided  without  breaking. 

I  now  found  the  heat  of  the  rock  on  which  I  was  reposing, 
and  the  radiation  from  the  fluid  lava,  almost  insupportable, 
whilst  the  sulphurous  effluvium  painfully  affected  my  lungs. 
On  looking  around,  I  fortunately  observed  a  spot  a  few  feet 
above  me,  from  which  I  could,  in  a  standing  position,  get  a 
better  view  of  the  lake,  and  perhaps  suffer  less  inconvenience 
from  its  vapours.  Having  reached  this  spot,  I  continued  to 
observe  the  slow  formation  and  absorption  of  these  vesicles  of 
lava.  One  of  them  soon  appeared.  Another  soon  followed 
at  a  different  part  of  the  fiery  lake,  but,  like  its  predecessor, 
it  disappeared  as  quietly. 

Another  swelling  now  arose  about  half  way  distant  from 
the  centre  of  the  cauldron,  which  enlarged  much  beyond 
its  predecessors  in  point  of  size.  It  attained  a  diameter  of 
about  three  feet»  and  then  burst,  but  not  with  any  explo- 
sion. The  waves  it  propagated  in  the  fiery  fluid  passed  on  to 
the  sides,  and  were  thence  reflected  back  just  as  would  have 
happened  in  a  lake  of  water  of  the  same  dimensions. 

This  phenomenon  reappeared  several  times,  some  of  the 
bubbles  being  considerably  larger  in  size,  and  making  proper^ 
tionally  greater  disturbance  in  the  liquid  of  this  miniature 
crater.  I  would  gladly  have  remained  a  longer  time^  but  the 
excessive  heat,  the  noxious  vapours,  and  the  warning  of  my 
chronometer  forbade  it  I  climbed  back  through  the  gap  by 
which  I  had  descended,  and  rushed  as  fast  as  I  could  to  a  safe 
distance  from  the  coming  eruption. 

I  was  much  exhausted  by  the  heat,  although  I  suffered 
still  greater  inconvenience  from  the  vapours.     From  my 


222  BISCUITS  AND  WHISKY. 

obBervations  of  the  eruptions  before  my  descent  into  this  little 
crater,  I  had  estimated  that  I  might  safely  allow  myself  six 
minutes,  but  not  more  than  eight,  if  I  descended  into  the 
crater  immediately  after  an  eruption. 

If  my  memory  does  not  fail  me,  I  passed  about  six  minutes 
in  examining  it,  and  the  next  explosion  occurred  ten  minutes 
after  the  former  ona  On  my  return  to  Naples  I  found  that 
a  pair  of  thick  boots  I  had  worn  on  this  expedition  were 
entirely  destroyed  by  the  heat»  and  fell  to  pieces  in  my 
attempt  to  take  them  off. 

On  my  return  from  the  pit  of  burning  fire,  I  sat  down 
with  my  companion  to  refresh  myself  with  a  few  biscuits 
contained  in  our  basket.  Cold  water  would  have  been  the 
most  refreshing  fluid  we  could  have  desired,  but  we  had  none, 
and  my  impatient  friend  cried  out»  "  I  wish  I  had  a  glass  of 
whisky  I"  It  immediately  occurred  to  me  to  feel  in  my  own 
basket  for  a  certain  glass  bottle  preserved  in  a  tight  leather 
case^  which  fortunately  being  found,  I  presented  to  my 
astonished  friend,  with  the  remark  that  it  contained  half  a 
pint  of  the  finest  Irish  whisky.  This  piece  of  good  luck  for 
my  fellow-traveller  arose  not  from  my  love  but  from  my 
diilike  of  whisky.  Shortly  before  my  Italian  tour  I  had 
been  travelling  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  having  ex- 
hausted my  brandy,  was  unable  to  replace  it  by  anything 
but  whisky,  a  drink  which  I  can  only  tolerate  under  very 
exceptional  circumstances. 

Hot  Springs. 

During  my  residence  at  Naples  in  1828,  the  government 
appointed  a  commission  of  members  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Naples  to  visit  Ischia  and  make  a  report  upon  the  hot  springs 
in  that  island.     Being  a  foreign  member  of  the  Academy,  they 


HOT  SPRINGS  OP  ISCHIA.  228 

did  me  the  honour  of  placing  my  name  upon  that  commission. 
The  weather  was  very  favourabley  the  party  was  most  agree- 
able, and  during  three  or  four  days  I  enjoyed  the  society  of 
my  colleagues^  the  delightful  scenery,  and  the  highly  inte- 
resting natural  phenomena  of  that  singular  island. 

None  of  the  hot  springs  were  deep :  in  several  we  made 
excavations  which,  in  all  cases,  gave  increased  heat  to  the 
water.  In  one  or  two,  I  believe  if  we  had  excavated  to  a 
small  depth  or  bored  a  few  feet,  we  might  have  met  with 
boiling  water. 

I  took  the  opportunity  of  this  visit  to  view  the  devastations 
made  by  the  recent  earthquake  in  the  small  town  which  had 
been  destroyed. 

The  greater  part  of  the  town  consisted  of  narrow  streets 
formed  by  small  houses  built  of  squared  stone.  In  some  of 
these  streets  the  houses  on  one  side  were  thrown  down,  whilst 
those  a  few  feet  distant,  on  the  opposite  side,  although  severely 
damaged,  had  their  walls  left  standing. 

The  landlord  of  the  hotel  at  which  we  took  up  our  quarters 
assured  me  the  effects  of  the  recent  earthquake  were  entirely 
confined  to  a  small  portion  of  the  island  which  he  pointed 
out  from  the  front  of  his  hotel,  and  added  that  it  was  scarcely 
felt  in  other  parts. 

Earthquakes. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  chapter  I  mentioned  that  I 
had  never  been  consciously  sensible  of  the  occurrence  of  an 
earthquake.  I  think  it  may  perhaps  be  useful  to  state  that 
on  a  recent  occasion  I  really  perceived  the  effects  of  an 
earthquake,  although  at  the  time  I  assigned  them  to  a 
different  cause. 

On  the  6th  of  laRt  October,  about  half-past  three,  a.m.. 


224  UNCONSCIOUS  WITNESS  OF  EARTHQUAKE. 

most  of  the  inhabitants  of  London  who  were  awake  at  that 
hour  perceived  several  shocks  of  an  earthquake.  I  also  was 
awake,  although  not  conscious  of  the  shocks  of  an  earthquake. 

As  soon  as  I  read  of  the  event  in  the  morning  papers,  I  was 
forcibly  struck  by  its  coincidence  with  my  own  observations, 
although  I  had  attributed  to  them  an  entirely  different  cause. 
In  order  to  explain  this,  it  is  necessary  to  premise  that  I  had 
on  a  former  occasion  instituted  some  experiments  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  how  £eu:  off  the  passing  of  a  cart  or 
carriage  would  affect  the  steadiness  of  a  star  observed  by 
reflection.  Amongst  other  methods,  I  had  fixed  a  looking- 
glass  of  about  12  by  16  inches,  by  a  pair  of  hinges,  to 
the  front  wall  of  my  bedroom.  It  was  usually  so  placed  that, 
as  I  lay  in  bed,  at  the  distance  of  about  10  or  12  feet,  I  could 
see  by  reflection  a  small  gas-light  burner,  which  was  placed 
on  my  left  hand. 

By  this  arrangement  any  tremors  propagated  through  the 
earth  from  passing  C€trriages  would  be  communicated  to  the 
looking-glass  by  means  of  the  front  wall  of  the  house,  which 
rose  about  40  feet  from  the  surface.  The  image  of  the  small 
gas-burner  reflected  in  the  looking-glass  would  be  pro- 
portionally disturbed.  In  this  state  of  things,  at  about  half- 
past  three  o'clock  of  the  morning  in  question,  I  observed  the 
reflected  image  of  the  gas-light  move  downwards  and  upwards 
two  or  three  times.  I  then  listened  attentively,  expecting  to 
hear  the  sound  of  a  distant  carriage  or  cart  Hearing  nothing 
of  the  kind,  I  concluded  that  the  earth  wave  had  travelled 
beyond  the  limit  of  the  sound  wave,  arising  from  the  carriage 
which  produced  it.  Presently  the  image  of  the  gaslight  again 
vibrated  up  and  down,  and  then  suddenly  fell  about  four  or 
five  inches  lower  down  in  the  glass,  where  it  remained  fixed 
for  a  time.     Still  thinking  the  observation  of  no  consequence. 


VISIT  IN  SEARCH  OF  FIRE-DAMP.  226 

I  shut  my  eyes,  and  after  perhaps  another  minute,  again  saw 
the  image  in  its  lower  position.  It  then  rose  to  its  former 
position,  vibrated,  and  shortly  again  descended :  it  remained 
down  for  some  time  and  then  resumed  its  first  position. 

Fire  Damp. 

An  opportunity  presented  itself  several  years  after  my 
examination  of  Vesuvius  of  witnessing  another  form  under 
which  fire  occasionally  exerts  its  formidable  power. 

I  was  visiting  a  friend*  at  Merthyr  Tydfil,  who  pos- 
sessed very  extensive  coal-mines.  I  inquired  of  my  host 
whether  any  fire-damp  existed  in  them.  On  receiving  an 
affirmative  answer,  I  expressed  a  wish  to  become  j^rsonally 
acquainted  with  the  miner's  invisible  but  most  dangerous 
enemy.  Arrangements  were  therefore  made  for  my  visit  to 
the  subterranean  world  on  the  following  day.  Professor  Moll 
of  Utrechty  who  was  also  a  guest,  expressed  a  wish  to  ac- 
company me. 

The  entrance  to  the  mine  is  situated  in  the  side  of  a  moun- 
tain.  Its  chief  manager  conducted  our  expedition  to  visit  the 
•  fire-king.' 

We  found  a  coal-waggon  drawn  by  a  horse,  and  filled 
with  clean  straw,  standing  on  the  railway  which  led  into  the 
workings. 

The  manager.  Professor  Moll,  and  myself,  together  with 
two  or  three  assistants,  with  candles,  lanterns,  and  Davy- 
lamps,  got  into  this  vehicle,  which  immediately  entered  the 
adit  of  the  mine.  We  advanced  at  a  good  pace,  passing  at 
intervals  doors  which  opened  on  our  approach  and  then  in- 
stantly closed.  Each  door  had  an  attendant  boy,  whose  duty 
was  confined  to  the  regulation  of  his  own  door. 
*  The  kte  Sir  John  J.  Qnest^  Bart. 

Q 


226  DRIVE  INTO  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

Many  were  the  doors  we  passed  before  we  arrived  at  the 
termination  of  the  tram-road.  Aft^r  travelh'ng  about  a  mile 
and  a  half,  our  carriage  stopped  and  we  alighted.  We  now 
proceeded  on  foot,  each  carrying  his  own  candle,  until  we 
reached  a  kind  of  chamber  where  one  of  our  attendants  was 
left  with  the  candles. 

We,  each  holding  a  Davy-lamp  in  our  hand,  advanced  to- 
wards a  small  opening  in  the  side  of  this  chamber,  which  was 
so  low  that  we  were  compelled  to  crawl,  one  after  another,  on 
our  hands  and  knees.  A  powerful  current  of  air  rushed 
through  this  small  passage.  On  reaching  the  end  of  it,  we 
found  ourselves  in  a  much  larger  chamber  from  which  the 
coal  had  been  excavated.  At  a  little  distance  opposite  to  the 
path  by  which  we  entered  was  a  continuation  of  the  same 
narrow  hole  which  had  led  us  to  the  waste  in  which  we  now 
stood.  From  this  opening  issued  the  powerful  stream  of  air 
which  seemed  to  pass  in  a  direct  course  from  one  opening  to 
the  other. 

On  our  right  hand  the  large  chamber  we  had  entered  appeared 
to  spread  to  a  very  considerable  distance,  its  termination 
being  lost  in  darkness.  The  floor  was  covered  with  fragments 
which  had  fallen  from  the  roof;  so  that,  besides  the  risk 
from  explosion,  there  was  also  a  minor  one  arising  from  the 
possible  fall  of  some  huge  mass  of  slate  from  the  roof  of  the 
excavation  beneath  which  we  stood :  an  accident  which  I  had 
already  witnessed  in  the  waste  of  another  coal-mine.  As  we 
advanced  over  this  flaky  flooring  it  was  evident  that  we  were 
making  a  considerable  ascent  We,  in  fact,  now  occupied  a 
vast  cavern,  which  had  been  originally  formed  by  the  extrac- 
tion of  the  coal,  and  then  partially  filled  up  by  the  falling  in 
from  time  to  time  of  portions  of  the  slaty  roof. 

As  we  advanced  cautiously  with  our  Davy-lamps  beyond 


TEMPLE  OF  THE  FIRE-KING.  L>27 

the  current  of  air  which  had  hitherto  accompanied  us,  it  waa 
evident  that  a  change  had  taken  place  in  their  light :  for  the 
flames  became  much  enlarged.  Professor  Moll  and  myself 
mounted  a  huge  heap  of  these  fragments,  and  thus  came  into 
contact  Tilth  air  highly  charged  with  carburetted  hydrogen. 
At  this  point  there  was  a  very  sensible  diflTerence  m  the  atmo- 
sphere, even  by  a  change  of  three  feet  in  the  elevation  of 
the  lamp. 

Holding  up  the  lamp  at  the  level  of  my  head,  I  could  not 
see  the  wick  of  the  lamp,  but  a  general  flame  seemed  to  fill 
the  inside  of  its  wire-covering.  On  lowering  it  to  the  height 
of  my  knee,  the  wick  resumed  its  large  nebulous  appearance. 

My  companion,  I^fessor  Moll,  was  very  much  delighted 
with  this  experiment.  He  told  me  he  had  often  at  his 
lectures  explained  these  effects  to  his  pupils,  but  that  this 
was  the  first  exhibition  of  them  he  had  ever  witnessed  in  their 
natural  home. 

Although  well  acquainted  with  the  miniature  explosions 
of  the  experimentalist,  I  found  it  very  difficult  to  realize  in 
my  own  mind  the  effects  which  might  result  from  an  explo- 
sion under  the  circumstances  in  which  we  were  then  placed. 
I  inquired  of  the  manager,  who  stood  by  my  side,  what  would 
probably  be  the  effect,  if  an  explosion  were  to  take  plac«? 
Pointing  to  the  vast  heap  of  shale  from  which  I  had  just 
descended,  he  said  the  whole  of  that  would  be  blown  through 
the  narrow  channel  by  which  we  entered,  and  every  door  we 
had  passed  through  would  be  blown  down. 

We  now  retraced  our  steps,  and  crawling  back  through  the 
narrow  passage,  rejoined  our  carriage,  and  were  rapidly  con- 
veyed to  the  light  of  day. 


g  2 


CHAPTEU  XVII. 

EXPERIENCE   AMONGST   WORKMEN. 

Visit  to  Bradford— Clubs— Co-operative  Shops — The  Author  of  the  *'  Eco- 
nomy of  Manufactures  "  welcomed  by  the  Workmen — Visit  to  the  Temple 
of  Eolus — The  Philosopher  moralises — Commiserates  the  unsuccessful 
Statesman — Points  to  the  Poet  a  Theme  for  his  Verse — Immortalises 
both. 

During  one  of  my  visits  to  Leeds,  combinations  and  trades- 
unions  were  very  prevalent.  A  medical  friend  of  mine,  who 
was  going  to  Bradford  on  a  professional  visit,  very  kindly 
offered  to  take  me  over  in  his  carriage  and  bring  me  back 
again  in  the  evening.  He  had  in  that  town  a  Mend  engaged 
in  the  manufactories  of  the  place,  to  whom  he  proposed  to  in- 
troduce me,  and  who  would  willingly  give  me  every  assistance. 
Unfortunately,  on  our  arrival  we  found  that  this  gentleman 
was  absent  on  a  tour. 

My  medical  friend  was  much  vexed;  but  I  assured  him 
that  I  was  never  at  a  loss  in  a  manufacturing  town,  and  we 
agreed  to  meet  at  our  hotel  for  dinner.  I  then  went  into 
the  town  to  pick  up  what  information  I  might  be  able  to 
meet  with. 

Passing  a  small  manufactory,  I  think  it  was  of  door-mats,  I 
inquired  whether  a  stranger  might  be  permitted  to  see  it  The 
answer  being  in  the  affirmative,  one  of  the  men  accompanied 
me  round  the  works.  Of  course  I  asked  him  many  questions 
which  he  answered  as  far  as  he  could ;  but  several  of  them 


INTELLIGENT  OPERATIVE.  229 

puzzled  him,  and  he  very  good-humouredly  tried  to  supply 
the  information  I  wanted  by  asking  several  of  his  fellow^ 
workmen.  One  question  about  which  I  was  anxious  to  be  in- 
formed, puzzled  them  all.  At  last  one  of  the  men  to  whom 
he  applied  said,  "  Why  don't  you  go  and  ask  Sam  Brown  V* 
My  guide  immediately  went  in  search  of  his  learned  friend, 
who  gave  me  full  information  on  the  subjects  of  my  inquiry. 

Much  pleased  by  the  intelligence  and  acuteness  of  this 
man,  I  thought  it  possible  he  might  have  read  the  "  Economy 
of  Manufactures.**  On  mentioning  that  work,  I  found  he  was 
well  acquainted  with  it,  and  he  asked  my  opinion  of  its 
merits.  I  told  him  that,  having  myself  written  the  book, 
I  was  not  an  imiiartial  judge.  On  hearing  that  I  was 
its  author,  his  delight  was  unbounded;  he  held  out  his 
brawny  hand,  which  I  cordially  grasped.  The  most  gratify- 
ing remark  to  me,  however,  amongst  the  many  things  in  it  to 
which  he  referred  with  approbation,  was  the  expression  he 
applied  to  it  as  a  whole.  "  Sir,"  said  my  new  friend,  "  that 
book  made  me  think.'*  To  make  a  man  think  for  himself 
is  doing  him  far  higher  service  than  giving  him  much  in- 
struction. 

I  now  told  my  new  friend  that  I  had  studied  a  little  the 
eiTects  of  combinations,  and  also  the  results  of  co-operative 
shops,  and  that  I  was  very  anxious  to  add  to  my  stock  of 
information  upon  both  subjects,  but  particularly  on  the  latter. 
Knowing  that  there  existed  a  co-operative  shop  in  Bradford, 
I  asked  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  see  it  and  make  some 
inquiries  as  to  its  state  and  prospects.  He  said  if  he  could 
get  permission  for  half  an  hour*s  absence  he  would  accompany 
me  to  it,  and  give  me  wliatever  information  I  wished  as  to  its 
operation. 

Mr.  Brown  accordingly  accompanied  me  to  the  oo-o|>era- 


230  CX)-0PERAT1VE  SHOPS. 

tive  shop,  where  the  information  required  was  most  readily 
given. 

As  we  were  returning,  my  companion  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  how 

lucky !  there  is ,  the  secretary  of  all  our  clubs.     He  is 

the  man  to  tell  you  all  about  them."  We  accordingly  crossed 
over  to  the  other  side':  the  secretary,  as  soon  as  he  heard 
my  name,  held  out  his  hand  and  greeted  me  with  a  hearty 
grasp. 

Having  told  him  the  objects  of  my  inquiry,  he  expressed 
great  anxiety  to  give  me  the  fullest  information.  He  pro- 
posed to  take  me  with  him  in  the  course  of  the  evening  to  all 
the  clubs  in  Bradford,  in  each  of  which  he  promised  me  that 
I  should  receive  a  most  cordial  welcome. 

He  oflFered  to  show  me  all  their  rules,  with  the  exception 
of  certain  ones  which  he  assured  me  had  no  connection  what- 
ever with  the  objects  of  my  inquiries,  and  which  the  laws  of 
the  respective  clubs  required  to  be  kept  secret.  I  think  it 
right  to  mention  this  fact ;  but  I  am  bound  also  to  add  that 
I  liave  a  strong  conviction  of  the  truth  and  sincerity  of  my 
informant  I  believe  that  the  one  or  two  rules  which  I  under- 
stood could  not  be  communicated  to  a  stranger,  were  merely 
secret  modes  of  recognition  amongst  the  members  of  the  dif- 
ferent societies  by  which  fellow-members  of  the  same  societies 
might  recognize  each  other  in  distant  places. 

However,  my  limited  time  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  It 
was  impossible  to  remain  at  Bradford  that  night,  and  my 
previous  arrangements  called  me  in  two  days  to  a  distant  part 
of  the  country.  I  parted  with  regret  from  these  friendly 
workmen,  and  joining  my  companion  at  the  hotel,  after  a 
hasty  dinner  we  were  soon  on  our  way  back  to  Leeds. 

Our  conversation  turned  upon  the  large  ironworks  wo 
should  ()ass  on  our  return,  which  indeed  wei*e  clearly  indi- 


A  REVERIE.  281 

cated  by  the  columns  of  fire  in  front  of  ns — ^tall  chimneyB 
illumining  the  darkness  of  the  night 

I  was  told  by  my  friend  that  in  one  of  the  ironworks  which 
we  should  pass,  there  was  a  large  tunnel  through  a  rock  which 
had  originally  been  intended  for  a  canal :  but  that  it  was  now 
used  as  an  air-chamber,  to  equalize  the  supply  of  the  blast 
furnaces.  Also  that  an  engine  of  a  hundred  horse-power 
continually  blew  air  into  this  stony  chamber. 

I  inquired  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  get  admission 
into  this  Temple  of  MohxB,  As  my  friend,  fortimately  for  me, 
was  acquainted  with  the  proprietors,  this  was  not  difficult. 
Our  carriage  drove  up  to  the  manager's  house,  and  my  wish 
was  immediately  gratified* 

A  lantern  was  provided,  a  small  iron  door  at  the  end  of 
the  cavern  was  opened,  and  armed  like  Diogenes,  I  entered 
upon  my  search  after  truth.  I  soon  ascertained  that  there 
was  very  little  current,  except  close  to  the  tuyeres  which  sup- 
plied the  several  furnaces,  and  also  at  the  aperture  through 
which  tons  of  air  were  driven  without  cessation  by  the  un- 
tiring fiery  horse. 

I  tried  to  think  seriously;  and  reflecting  on  Shadiaohy 
Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  I  speculated  whether  their  furnace 
might  liave  been  hotter  than  the  one  before  me.  I  was  witliin 
a  foot  or  two  of  a  white  heat,  but  I  had  no  thermometer  with 
me,  and  if  I  had  had  one,  its  graduations  might  not  have 
been  upon  tlie  same  scale  as  theirs — so  I  gave  up  the 
speculation. 

The  intensity  of  that  fire  was  peculiarly  impressive.  It 
recalled  the  past,  disturbed  the  present,  and  suggested  the 
future.  Tlio  contemplation  of  the  fiery  abyss,  which  had 
recalled  the  history  of  those  ancient  Hebrews,  naturally 
turned  my  attention  to  the  wonderful  powers  of  endm^nce 


282  EFFECT  OF  A  DRAFT  ON  CONTEMPLATION. 

manifested  by  one  of  their  modem  representatives.  Candour 
obliges  me  to  admit  that  my  speculations  on  the  future  were 
not  entirely  devoid  of  anxiety,  though  I  trust  they  were 
orthodox,  for  whilst  I  admired  the  humanity  of  Origen,  I  was 
shocked  by  the  heresy  of  Maurice. 

I  now  began  to  moralize. 

Blown  upon  by  a  hundred  horse-power,  I  sympathised 
with  Disraeli  refrigerated  by  }na  friends.  Turning  from  tliat 
painful  contemplation,  I  was  calmed  by  the  freshness  of  the 
breeze.  The  action  of  the  pumps,  the  cooZness  of  the  place 
and  of  the  time,  for  it  was  evening ^  recalled  to  my  recollection 
M M ;soI  hoped,  for  the  sake  of  instruc- 
tion, that  he  would  in  his  own  adamantine  verses  snatch  if 
possible  from  oblivion  the  moral  anatomy  of  that  unsuccessful 
statesman.  Yet,  lest  even  the  poet  himself  should  be  for- 
gotten, I  resolved  to  give  each  of  them  his  last  chance  of 
celebrity  preserved  in  the  modest  amber  of  my  own  simple 
prose. 

Emerging  from  my  reverie,  I  made  the  preconcerted 
signal ;  the  iron  door  was  opened,  and  we  were  again  on  our 
road  to  Leeds. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

PICKING  LOCKS   AND   DECIPHERING. 

Interview  with  Yidocq — Remarkable  Power  of  altering  his  Height — A 
BungltT  in  picking  Locks — Mr.  HobVs  Lock  and  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington— Strong  belief  that  certain  Ciphers  are  inscrutable — Davies 
Gilbert's  Cipher — ITie  Author's  Cipher  both  deciphered — Classified  Dic- 
tionaries of  the  English  Language — Anagrams — Squaring  Words^ 
Bishop  not  easily  squared — Lesser  Dignitaries  easier  to  work  upon. 

These  two  subjects  are  in  truth  much  more  nearly  allied 
than  might  appear  upon  a  superficial  view  of  them.  They 
are  in  fact  closely  connected  with  each  other  as  small 
branches  of  the  same  vast  subject  of  cornbinations. 

Several  years  ago,  the  celebrated  thief-taker,  Vidocq,  paid 
a  short  visit  to  London.  I  had  an  interview  of  some  duration 
with  this  celebrity,  who  obligingly  conveyed  to  me  much 
information,  which,  though  highly  interesting,  was  not  of  a 
nature  to  become  personally  useful  to  me. 

He  possessed  a  very  remarkable  power,  which  he  was  so  good 
as  to  exhibit  to  me.  It  consisted  in  altering  his  height  to  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  less  than  his  ordinary  height  He  threw 
over  his  shoalders  a  cloak,  in  which  he  walked  round  tlie  room. 
It  did  not  touch  the  floor  in  any  part,  and  was,  I  should  say, 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  above  it.  He  then  altered  his 
height  and  took  the  same  walk.  The  cloak  then  touched  the 
floor  and  lay  upon  it  in  some  part  or  otlier  during  the  whole 


234  PICKING  LOCKS,  VIDOCQ,  HOBBS. 

walk.  He  then  stood  still  and  altered  his  height  alternately, 
several  times  to  about  the  same  amount. 

I  inquired  whether  the  altered  height,  if  sustained  for 
several  hours,  produced  fatigue.  He  replied  that  it  did  not, 
and  that  he  had  often  used  it  during  a  whole  day  without  any 
additional  fatigue.  He  remarked  that  he  had  found  this  gift 
very  useful  as  a  disguise.  I  asked  whether  any  medical  man 
had  examined  the  question ;  but  it  did  not  appear  that  any 
satisfactory  explanation  had  been  arrived  at 

I  now  entered  upon  a  favourite  subject  of  my  own — the  art 
of  picking  locks — but,  to  my  great  disappointment,  I  found 
him  not  at  all  strong  upon  that  question.  I  had  myself 
bestowed  some  attention  upon  it,  and  had  written  a  paper, 
*  On  the  Art  of  Opening  all  Locks,'  at  the  conclusion  of  which 
I  had  proposed  a  plan  of  partially  defeating  my  own  method. 
My  paper  on  that  subject  is  not  yet  published. 

Several  years  after  Vidocq's  appearance  in  London,  the 
Exhibition  of  1851  occurred.  On  one  of  iny  earliest  visits,  I 
observed  a  very  curious  lock  of  large  dimensions  with  its  inter- 
nal mechanism  fully  exposed  to  view.  I  found,  on  inquiry, 
that  it  belonged  to  the  American  department.  Having  dis- 
covered the  exhibitor,  I  asked  for  an  explanation  of  the  lock. 
I  listened  with  great  interest  to  a  very  profound  disquisition 
upon  locks  and  the  means  of  picking  thera,  conveyed  to  mo 
with  the  most  unaflfected  simplicity. 

I  felt  that  the  maker  of  that  lock  surpassed  me  in  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  almost  as  much  as  I  had  thought  I  ex- 
celled Vidocq.  Having  mentioned  it  to  the  late  Duke  of 
Wellington,  he  proposed  that  we  should  pay  a  visit  to  the 
lock  the  next  time  I  accompanied  him  to  the  Exhibition. 
We  did  so  a  few  days  after,  when  the  Duke  was  equally 
pleased  witli  the  lock   and   its   inventor.      Mr.  Hobbs,  the 


BELIEF  IN  AN  INSCRUTABLE  CIPHEK.  285 

gentleman  of  whom  I  am  speaking,  and  whose  locks  have  now 
become  so  celebrated,  was  good  enough  to  explain  to  me  from 
time  to  time  many  difficult  questions  in  the  science  of  con- 
structing and  of  picking  locks.  He  informed  me  that  he 
had  devised  a  system  for  defeating  all  these  methods  of  pick- 
ing locks,  for  which  he  proposed  taking  out  a  patent.  I  was, 
however,  much  gratified  when  I  found  that  it  was  precisely 
the  plan  I  had  previously  described  in  my  own  unpublished 
pamphlet. 

Decipherinff. 

Deciphering  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
of  arts,  and  I  fear  I  have  wasted  upon  it  more  time  than  it 
deserves.  I  practised  it  in  its  simplest  form  when  I  was  at 
school.  The  bigger  boys  made  ciphers,  but  if  I  got  hold  of 
a  few  words,  I  usually  found  out  the  key.  The  consequence 
of  this  ingenuity  was  occasionally  painful :  the  owners  of  the 
detected  ciphers  sometimes  thrashed  me,  though  the  &ult 
really  lay  in  their  own  stupidity. 

There  is  a  kind  of  maxim  amongst  the  craft  of  decipherers 
(similar  to  one  amongst  the  locksmiths),  that  every  cipher  can 
be  deciphered. 

I  am  myself  inclined  to  think  that  deciphering  is  an  affair 
of  time,  ingenuity,  and  patience ;  and  that  very  few  ciphers 
are  worth  the  trouble  of  unravelling  them. 

One  of  the  most  singular  characteristics  of  the  art  of  deci- 
phering is  the  strong  conviction  possessed  by  every  person, 
even  moderately  acquainted  with  it,  that  he  is  able  to  con- 
struct a  cipher  which  nobody  else  can  decipher.  I  have  also 
observed  that  the  cleverer  the  person,  the  more  intimate  is 
his  conviction.  In  my  earliest  study  of  the  subject  I  shared 
in  thus  belief,  and  maintained  it  for  many  yea^ 


236       THE  PRESIDENT  OF  ROYAL  SOCIETY'S  CIPHER 

In  a  conversation  on  that  subject  which  I  had  with  the  late 
Mr.  Davies  Gilbert,  President  of  the  Eoyal  Society,  each 
maintained  that  he  possessed  a  cipher  which  was  absolutely 
inscrutable.  On  comparison,  it  appeared  that  we  had  both 
imagined  the  same  law,  and  we  were  thus  confirmed  in  our 
conviction  of  the  security  of  our  cipher. 

Many  years  after,  the  late  Dr.  Fitton,  having  asked  my 
opinion  of  the  possibility  of  making  an  inscrutable  cipher,  I 
mentioned  the  conversation  I  had  had  with  Davies  Gilbert, 
and  explained  the  law  of  the  cipher,  which  we  both  thought 
would  baffle  the  greatest  adept  in  that  science.  Dr.  Fitton 
fully  agreed  in  my  view  of  the  subject ;  but  even  whilst  I 
was  explaining  the  law,  an  indistinct  glimpse  of  defeating  it 
presented  itself  vaguely  to  my  imagination.  Having  men- 
tioned my  newly-conceived  doubt,  it  was  entirely  reject-ed  by 
my  friend.  I  then  proposed  that  Dr.  Fitton  should  write  a 
few  sentences  in  a  cipher  constructed  according  to  this  law, 
and  that  I  should  make  some  attempts  to  unravel  it.  I 
oflTered  to  give  a  few  hours  to  the  subject ;  and  if  I  could 
see  my  way  to  a  solution,  to  continue  my  researches ;  but  if 
not  on  the  road  to  success,  to  tell  him  I  had  given  up  the 
task. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  that  day  I  commenced  a  preparatory 
inquiry  into  the  means  of  unravelling  this  new  cipher,  and  I 
soon  arrived  at  a  tolerable  certainty  that  I  should  succeed. 
The  next  night,  on  my  return  from  a  party,  I  found  Dr. 
Fitton's  cipher  on  my  table.  I  immediately  commenced  my 
attempt.  After  some  time  I  found  that  it  would  not  yield  to 
my  means  of  treating  it ;  and  on  further  examination  I  suc- 
ceeded in  proving  that  it  was  not  written  according  to  the 
law  agreed  upon.  At  first  my  friend  was  very  positive  that 
I  was  mistaken ;  and  having  taken  it  to  his  sister,  by  whose 


DECIPHERED.  237 

aid  it  was  composed,  he  returned  and  told  me  that  it  was 
construeted  iij)on  the  very  law  I  had  proposed.  I  then 
assureil  him  that  they  mud  have  made  some  mistake,  and 
that  my  evidence  was  so  irresistible,  that  if  my  life  depended 
upon  the  result  I  should  liave  no  hesitation  in  making  my 
election. 

Dr.  Fitton  again  retired  to  consult  his  sister ;  and  after  tlie 
lapse  of  a  considerable  interval  of  time  again  returned,  and 
informed  me  that  I  was  right — ^that  his  sister  had  inadver- 
tently mistaken  the  enunciation  of  the  law.  I  now  remarked 
that  I  possessed  an  absolute  domonsti-ation  of  the  fact  I  had 
communicated  to  him;  and  added  that,  having  conjectured 
the  origin  of  the  mistake,  I  would  decipher  the  cipher  with 
the  erroneous  law  before  he  could  send  me  the  new  cipher  to 
be  made  according  to  the  law  originally  proposed.  Before 
the  evening  of  the  next  day  both  ciphers  had  been  trans- 
lated. 

This  cipher  was  arranged  upon  the  following  principle : — 
Two  concentric  circles  of  cardboard  were  formed,  each  divided 
into  twenty-six  or  more  divisions. 

On  the  outer  were  written  in  regular  order  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet.  On  the  inner  circle  were  written  the  same 
twenty-six  letters,  but  in  any  irregular  manner. 

In  order  to  use  this  cipher,  look  for  the  first  letter  of  the 
word  to  be  ciphered  on  the  outside  circle.  Opposite  to  it,  on 
the  inner  circle,  will  be  another  letter,  which  is  to  be  written 
as  the  cipher  for  the  former. 

Now  turn  round  the  inner  circle  until  the  cipher  just 
written  is  opposite  the  letter  a  on  the  otUer  circle.  Proceed 
in  the  same  manner  for  the  next,  and  so  on  for  all  succeeding 
letters. 

Many  varieties  of  this  cipher  may  be  made  by  inserting 


288         NEW  DICTIONARY  OF  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

other  characters  to  represent  the  divisions  between  words, 

the  various  stops,  or  even  blanks.     Although  Davies  Gilbert^ 

I  believe,  and  myself,  both  arrived  at  it  from  our  own  efforts, 

I  liave  reason  to  think  tliat  it  is  of  very  much  older  date.     I 

am  not  sure  that  it  may  not  be  found  in  the  "  Steganographia  " 

of  Schott,  or  even  of  Trithemius. 

One  great  aid  in  deciphering  is,  a  complete  analysis  of  the 

language  in  which  the  cipher  is  written.     For  this  purpose 

I  took  a  good  English  dictionary,  and  had  it  copied  out  into 

a  series  of  twenty-four  other  dictionaries.     They  comprised 

all  words  of 

One  letter. 

Two  letters. 

Three  letters, 

&c    &c. : 

Twenty-six  letters. 

Each  dictionary  was  then  carefully  examined,  and  all  the 
modifications  of  each  word,  as,  for  instance,  the  plurals  of 
substantives,  the  comparatives  and  superlatives  of  adjectives, 
the  tenses  and  participles  of  verbs,  &c.,  were  carefully  indi- 
cated. A  second  edition  of  these  twenty-six  dictionaries  was 
then  made,  including  these  new  derivatives. 

Each  of  these  dictionaries  was  then  examined,  and  every 
word  which  contained  any  two  or  more  letters  of  the  same  kind 
was  carefully  marked.  Thus,  against  the  word  tell  the  num- 
bers 3  and  4  were  placed  to  indicate  that  the  third  and  fourth 
letters  are  identical.  Similarly,  the  word  hetter  was  followed 
by  the  numbers  25,  34.  Each  of  these  dictionaries  was  then 
re-arranged  thus : — ^In  the  first  or  original  one  each  word  was 
arranged  according  to  the  alphabetical  order  of  its  initial 
letter. 

In  the  next  the  words  were  arranged  alphabetically  accord- 


QUEER  COINCIDENCES. 


239 


ing  to  the  second  lettor  of  each  word,  and  so  in  the  other 
dictionaries  on  to  the  last  letter. 

Again,  each  dictionary  was  divided  into  several  others, 
a(*cording  to  the  numerical  characteristics  placed  at  the  end 
of  each  word.  Many  words  appeared  repeatedly  in  several  of 
these  subdinsions. 

The  work  is  yet  unfinished,  although  the  classification 
already  amounts,  I  believe,  to  nearly  half  a  million  words. 

From  some  of  these,  dictionaries  were  made  of  those  words 
only  which  by  transposition  of  their  letters  formed  anagrams. 
A  few  of  these  are  curious : — 


Opponto. 

Similarity. 

Satirical. 

vote 

veto 

fuel 

flue 

odes 

dose 

acre 

care 

taps 

pats 

bard 

drab 

evil 

veil 

tubs 

buts 

poem 

mope 

ever 

veer 

vast 

vats 

poet 

tope 

lips 

slip 

note 

tone 

trio 

liot 

cask 

sack 

cold 

clod 

star 

rats 

fowl 

wolf 

evil 

vile 

wive 

view 

gods 

dogs 

arms 

mars 

nabs 

bans 

tory 

tyro 

rove 

over 

tame 

mate 

tars 

rat8 

lips 

lisp 

acts 

cats 

There  are  some  verbal  puzzles  costing  much  time  to  solve 
which  may  be  readily  detected  by  these  dictionaries.  Such, 
for  instance,  is  the  sentence, 

I  tore  ten  Persian  MSS., 

which  it  is  required  to  form  into  one  word  of  eighteen  letters. 
The  first  process  is  to  put  opposite  each  letter  the  number 
of  times  it  occurs,  thus : — 


240 


ANAGBAMS. 

i 

2 

P         1 

It  contains — 

t 

2 

8          3 

2  triplets. 

o 

1 

a        1 

4  pairs. 

r 

2 

m        1 

4  single  letters. 

e 

3 

— 

— 

n 

2 

6 

18 



12 

12  — 

18 

Now,  on  examining  the  dictionary  of  all  words  of  eighteen 
letters,  it  will  be  observed  that  they  amount  to  twenty-seven, 
and  that  they  may  be  arranged  in  six  classes : — 

7  having  five  letters  of  the  same  kind. 


5      . 

„       four 

3 

„       three  triplets 

7 

„       two  triplets. 

3 

„       one  triplet. 

2      , 

,       seven  pairs. 

27 
Hence  it  appears  that  the  word  sought  must  be  one  of  thoee 
seven  having  two  triplets,  and  also  that  it  must  have  four 
pairs  ;  this  reduces  the  question  to  the  two  words — 

misinterpretations, 

misrepresentations. 

The  latter  is  the  one  sought,  because  its  triplets  are  e  and  s, 
whilst  those  of  the  former  are  i  and  t. 

The  reader  who  has  leisure  may  try  to  find  out  the  word  of 
eighteen  letters  formed  by  the  following  sentence : — 
Art  is  not  in,  but  Satan. 

Another  amusing  puzzle  may  be  greatly  assisted  by  these 


SQUAIUNO  A  DEAN.  241 

dictionaries.  It  is  called  squaring  words,  and  is  thus 
practised : — ^Let  the  given  word  to  be  squared  be  Dean.  It  is 
to  be  written  horizontally^  and  also  vertically,  thus : — 

Dean, 
e   .  .   . 
a   .  .  . 

n    .  .   . 

And  it  is  required  to  fill  up  the  blanks  with  such  letters  that 
each  vertical  column  shall  be  the  same  as  its  corresponding 
horizontal  column,  thus : — 

Dean 

ease 

asks 

nest 

The  various  ranks  of  the  church  are  easily  squared ;  but  it 

is  stated,  I  know  not  on  what  authority,  that  no  one  has  yet 

succeeded  in  squaring  the  word  bishop. 

Having  obtained  one  squared  word,  as  in  the  case  of  Dean, 
it  will  be  observed  that  any  of  the  letters  in  the  two  diagonals, 
d,  a,  k,  t, — ^n,  s,  s,  n,  may  be  changed  into  any  other  letter 
which  will  make  an  English  word. 
Thus  Dean  may  be  changed  into  such  words  as 
dear  peas  weak  beam 

fear  seas  lead  seal 

deaf  bear  real  team 

In  &ct  there  are  upwards  of  sixty  substitutes :  possibly  some 
of  these  might  render  the  two  diagonals,  d,  a,  k,  t,  and  n,  s,  s,  n, 
also  English  words. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EXPEBIENGE   IN  ST.   QILES'S. 

Deep-snow — Beggar  in  Belgravia  wanted  work — He  said  he  was  a  Watch- 
maker— Gave  his  address — It  was  Mae — Met  him  months  after — The 
same  story — ^The  same  nntruth — Children  hired  for  the  purpose  of  Beg- 
ging— Cellar  in  St  Giles's — Inquired  for  a  Poor  Woman  and  Child — 
Landlady  told  me  of  a  Man  almost  starving  in  her  hack  kitchen — He 
turned  out  to  he  an  accomplished  Swindler — Pot-hoys — Caught  him  at 
last— Took  him  to  Bow  Street 

Soon  after  taking  up  my  residence  in  London,  I  met  with 
many  applications  from  street-beggars,  with  various  tales  of 
distress.  I  could  not  imagine  that  all  these  were  fictitious, 
and  found  great  difficulty  in  selecting  the  few  objects  on 
whom  I  could  bestow  my  very  moderate  means  of  charity. 
One  severe  winter  I  resolved  on  making  my  own  personal 
observations  on  the  most  promising  cases  which  presented 
themselves. 

The  first  general  principle  at  which  I  arrived  was,  that — 

In  whatever  part  of  London  I  might  be,  if  I  asked  for  the 
residence  of  a  mendicant,  it  was  pretty  sure  to  be  in  a 
quarter  very  remote  from  the  one  in  which  he  asked  relie£ 

The  next  was,  that — 

Those  mendicants  who  professed  to  want  work  and  not 
charity,  always  belonged  to  trades  in  which  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  give  them  employment  without  trusting  them  with 
valuable  property. 


BEQGAR,  A  WATCHMAKER.  248 

One  example  will  suffice.  During  a  very  severe  winter, 
the  ground  being  covered  with  snow,  whilst  passing  through 
Belgrave  Square,  a  man  accosted  me,  declaring  that  he  could 
get  no  work,  and  that  himself  and  family  were  starving. 

I  inquired  his  trade :  he  was  a  watchmaker.  I  asked  for 
his  address.  I  wrote  down  in  my  pocket-book  his  name,  the 
street,  and  the  number,  and  read  it  to  him :  it  was  in  Clerken- 
weU.  The  next  day  I  went  there,  made  particular  inquiries 
of  the  landlord,  and  was  informed  that  no  person  of  that 
name  lodged  in  the  house,  or  ever  had  lodged  in  it  I  spoke 
to  several  respectable  female  lodgers  also,  who  gave  me  the 
same  information,  as  far  as  their  knowledge  went. 

Several  months  after,  I  met  the  same  professional  mendi- 
cant in  Portland  Boad.  He  did  not  recollect  me,  and  again 
told  the  same  story,  and  again  gave  me  the  same  address. 
On  this,  I  recalled  to  his  memory  that  I  had  seen  him  before : 
that  he  had  given  me  the  same  address ;  and  that,  having 
myself  been  there  to  inquire,  I  had  found  that  his  story  was 
untrue.  This  statement  had  allowed  him  time  to  invent  a 
new  tale. 

With  well-feigned  surprise  he  suddenly  remembered  that 
his  wife,  about  three  months  ago,  had  told  him  that  a  strange 
gentleman  had  called,  and  had  particularly  inquired  for  him ; 
that  his  wife,  knowing  that  a  writ  was  out  against  him,  and 
that  he  was  liable  to  be  arrested,  had  denied  that  any  person 
of  his  name  resided  in  the  house. 

A  few  days  after  I  went  again  to  derkenwell,  and  received 
from  the  residents  the  answer  they  had  given  me  three 
months  before.  I  then  went  to  one  of  the  large  shops  for 
tools  used  by  watchmakers  near  that  locality,  and  having 
mentioned  the  subject  to  the  master,  be  very  readily  asked 
amongst  his  shopmen  whether  they  knew  of  such  a  person. 

r2 


244  BEGGARS  WITH  CHILDREN. 

He  assured  me  that,  even  allowing  the  man  had  not  usually 
dealt  at  his  shop,  it  was  impossible  that  he  should  not  have 
been  several  times  there  for  some  trifling  article  necessary  in 
the  hurry  of  his  business.  I  then  went  to  two  or  three  other 
shops  of  a  similar  kind,  and  found  that  his  name  was  entirely 
unknown.    I  therefore  concluded  that  he  was  an  impostor. 

I  will  mention  one  other  case,  because  it  arose  entirely  out 
of  an  accident,  and  could  not  have  been  foreseen. 

Living  at  that  time  much  in  society,  I  usually  walked 
home  from  the  hot  rooms  of  an  evening  party  wrapped  in  a 
stout  cloak,  even  though  it  sometimes  rained.  On  these 
occasions  I  was  often  placed  in  a  most  painful  situation. 

A  half-clad  miserable  female,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms, 
and  sometimes  accompanied  by  another  just  able  to  walk, 
followed  me  through  a  drizzling  rain  to  ask  charity  for  her 
starving  children. 

I  confess  it  was  to  me  a  most  painful  effort  to  resist  such 
an  application ;  yet  my  better  reason  informed  me  that  in  all 
probability  these  miserable  children  were  hired  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exciting  the  feelings  of  the  charitable.  To  give 
money  to  their  heartless  conductors  could  only  be  considered 
charitable,  inasmuch  as  it  might  contribute  to  shorten  the 
lives  of  their  wretched  victims. 

I  fear  I  gave  wrongfully  many  a  sixpenca  I  inquired  into 
some  cases,  but  without  any  result  which  could  enable  me  to 
alter  the  opinion  I  have  expressed.  It  was  in  one  of  these 
inquiries  that  the  singular  case  I  am  now  about  to  relate 
occurred. 

In  one  of  the  densest  of  London  fogs  on  a  November  nighty 
or  rather  at  between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I 
was  inquiring,  in  one  of  the  most  disreputable  streets  in 
London — George  Street,  St.  Giles's,  long  ago  pulled  down. 


THE  LANDLADY  IN  GEORGE  STREET,  ST.  GILES'S.    245 

enlarged,  and  rebuilt — ^for  a  female  with  an  infant,  who  had 
represented  herself  to  me  as  a  miserable  mother,  and  into 
the  truth  of  whose  story  I  was  anxious  to  inquire. 

I  had  been  into  several  of  the  lowest  lodging-houses,  and 
into  the  cellars  of  that  nest  of  misery  and  guilt,  and  was  un- 
successful in  finding  the  object  I  sought. 

Only  a  few  of  these  abodes  of  wretchedness  remained  un- 
visited,  when  I  inquired  after  the  poor  woman  I  was  seeking 
of  a  somewhat  decently  clothed  woman,  who  rented  one  of 
them. 

She  was  the  weekly  tenant  of  one  of  these  houses,  and  told 
me  that  on  the  preceding  night  a  poor  woman,  with  a  child 
wrapped  up  in  a  miserably  torn  shawl,  had  applied  for  a 
lodging  at  about  eleven  o'clock.  It  was  raining  hard,  and  the 
poor  woman  possessed  only  twopence,  and  the  price  of  a  bed 
in  the  cellar  was  at  this  house  threepence.  The  poor  woman 
went  away,  remarking  that  she  must  then  go  and  pawn  the 
remnant  of  the  shawl  that  covered  her  infant.  She  went,  but 
returned  no  more. 

The  ancient  weekly  tenant  then  thought  it  necessary  to 
defend,  or  rather  to  explain,  her  own  apparently  cruel  con- 
duct I  told  her  that  it  was  unnecessary,  and  that  even  in 
my  inmost  thoughts  I  had  not  cast  a  reproach  upon  her.  I 
told  her  that,  from  my  knowledge  of  the  misery  suffered  by 
poor  people,  I  could  readily  imagine  circumstances  which 
might  fuUy  explain  her  conduct. 

Her  heart,  however,  was  too  full,  so  I  sat  down  and  listened 
to  her  tale.  She  was  a  widow  advanced  in  years,  having  no 
relatives,  or  even  friends,  to  assist  her  in  her  old  age.  She 
was  the  weekly  tenant  of  a  small  house  in  that  villanous 
street,  and  was  entirely  supported  by  letting  out  every  foot  of 
floor  which  could  be  made  available  for  a  human  being  to 


246  A  STARVING  MAN  IN  HER  KITCHEN. 

sleep  upon.    But  the  stem  necessity  which  hung  over  her 
with  its  iron  hand  was  this : — 

Her  weekly  rent  became  due  on  each  Monday,  and  if  not 
paid  on  that  night,  the  next  morning  would  see  her  inexorably 
turned  out  of  her  only  home,  and  deprived  of  her  only  meanB 
of  sustaining  life. 

She  was  pleased  at  my  attention  to  her  sad  tale,  and,  with 
a  little  encouragement,  mentioned  some  of  the  experience  she 
had  had  in  her  painful  vocation. 

"  At  this  moment,"  she  said,  "  there  is  lying  on  a  rug  in  the 
back  kitchen  a  young  man,  who  has  tasted  nothing  during  the 
last  two  days  but  water  from  the  pump  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  street.  He  appears,"  she  said,  "  to  have  been  in  better 
circumstances  in  other  times." 

It  was  now  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  midst  of  a 
dense  fog.  I  inquired  whether  it  would  be  possible  at  this 
hour  to  get  some  soup  or  meat,  or  anything  to  sustain  life.  I 
went  down  into  the  close  unventilated  room,  and  beheld, 
stretched  on  a  kind  of  thing  like  a  couple  of  sacks,  a  pale, 
emaciated  man,  apparently  about  two  or  three  and  thirty 
years  of  age.  I  desired  him  to  call  on  me  the  next  morn- 
ing ;  and,  leaving  my  address  with  his  landlady,  left  also  a 
small  sum  of  money  to  procure  for  him,  if  possible,  present 
necessaries. 

The  next  morning  this  half-starved  man  called  at  my 
house,  in  garments  scarcely  covering  him.  I  inquired  into 
his  history,  and  he  told  me  one  probably  as  fabulous  as  that 
with  which  he  afterwards  deluded  me,  diu-ing  my  own  short 
acquaintance  with  him. 

I  supplied  him  with  a  few  clothes,  shoes,  and  other  things, 
just  to  replace  the  worn-out  rags  in  which  I  had  found  lum, 
and  desired  him  in  a  day  or  two,  when  he  got  them  into  a 


AN  AOCOMPLISHED  BOGUB.  247 

serviceable  form,  to  come  to  me^  that  I  might  see  what  his 
capacity  was,  and  by  what  means  he  could  best  earn  a  sub- 
sistence. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  the  long  and  artful  stories 
he  invented.  The  short  result  was  this :  that  he  had  been  a 
steward  of  a  merchant  ship — ^had  been  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  on  other  voyages ;  that  having,  on  his  return  from  some 
voyage,  been  reduced  by  illness  to  spend  all  his  little  earn- 
ings, and  even  to  sell  his  clothes,  and  having  no  friends  in 
London,  he  could  not  go  amongst  the  merchant  captains  for 
want  of  decent  clothes  to  appear  in.  This  difficulty  was 
partially  removed  by  my  giving  him  a  suit.  He  called  one 
day  to  tell  me  that  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  the  situation 
of  steward  in  a  small  West  Indiaman,  and  that  he  did  not  like 
to  sell  or  exchange  a  pair  of  top-boots  which  I  had  given  him 
without  asking  my  permission,  which,  of  course,  I  gave.  He 
told  me  that  if  he  sold  the  boots,  and  purchased  light,  gaudy- 
coloured  waistcoating,  he  might  do  a  little  profitable  business 
with  the  m'ggers.  He  showed  me  the  card  of  the  shop  in 
Monmouth  Street  at  which  he  had  commenced  a  negotiation 
about  the  sale  of  the  boots,  and  another,  in  the  same  street^ 
at  which  he  proposed  to  purchase  the  waistcoats.  He  gave 
me  the  name  of  his  ship,  and  of  its  captain,  and  the  day  of 
sailing.  I  flattered  myself  that  he  was  now  in  a  fS&ir  position 
to  get  a  fresh  start  in  life. 

A  few  evenings  after  the  ship  was  supposed  to  have  sailed 
he  called  at  my  house,  in  the  midst  of  heavy  rain,  apparently 
much  agitated,  and  stated  that,  in  raising  their  anchor,  an 
accident  had  happened,  by  which  the  captain's  leg  had  been 
broken. 

He  also  said  that,  being  sent  up  with  the  ship's  boat  to 
fetch  the  new  captain,  he  rould  not  resist  calling  at  my  house 


248  CX)NSDLTATION  AT  BOW  STREET. 

once  more  to  express  all  his  gratitude.    I  confess  I  enter- 
tained some  suspicion  about  this  story ;  but  I  said  nothing. 

The  next  morning  I  found  that  during  his  visit  he  had 
extracted  something  more  from  my  female  servants,  upon 
whose  sympathy  he  had  worked,  and  who  had  preyionsly 
contributed  very  liberally  to  his  wants. 

I  now  went  to  search  for  him  in  his  old  haunts,  and  with 
much  difficulty  ascertained  that  he  had  been  living  riotously 
at  some  public-house  in  another  quarter,  and  had  been  conti- 
nually drunk. 

My  next  step  was  to  go  to  Bow  Street  and  consult  Sir 
Richard  Bimie.  Having  explained  the  case,  he  consulted 
several  of  his  most  skilful  officers ;  but  none  were  acquainted 
with  the  man.  Sir  Richard  remarked  that  he  was  a  very 
adroit  fellow,  and  that  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  had  actually 
committed  an  act  of  swindling.  I  inquired  what  I  should  do 
in  case  I  found  him.  The  magistrate  replied,  *'  Bring  him 
before  me ;"  but  he  did  not  indicate  the  slightest  expectation 
of  my  accomplishing  that  object 

Having  thanked  Sir  Richard,  I  withdrew,  determined,  if 
the  fellow  were  in  London,  I  would  catch  him. 

I  now  renewed  my  inquiries,  which  at  first  were  ineffec- 
tuaL  One  day  it  occurred  to  me  that,  as  he  had  shown  me 
two  cards  of  shopkeepers  in  Monmouth  Street,  I  might  pos- 
sibly, by  cautious  inquiry,  get  some  clue  to  his  whereabouts. 

Although  it  was  Sunday  when  this  idea  occurred,  I  imme- 
diately commenced  at  one  end  of  the  street  to  knock  at  each 
door,  apologize  to  the  landlord  or  landlady,  and,  shortly 
stating  my  case,  to  inquire  if  they  could  throw  any  light 
uix)n  the  subject  I  went  up  one  side  of  the  street,  and 
down  part  of  the  other,  having  at  two  places  gained  some 
trKC08  ol  the  fellow. 


MORNING  VISIT  TO  ST.  GILES'S.  249 

I  will  say,  to  the  credit  of  the  then  residents,  some  of 
whom  I  intruded  upon  at  their  dinner  hour,  that  I  received 
in  no  one  instance  the  slightest  incivility,  nor  even  coldness. 

The  most  important  information  I  obtained  was,  that  a 
certain  pot-boy  (name  and  name  of  his  public-house  both 
unknown)  would  probably  be  able  to  give  me  some  clue. 

I  next  took  my  station  at  the  northern  end  of  Monmouth 
Street,  and  during  three  hours  accosted  every  pot-boy  who 
passed.  At  last  I  got  hold  of  the  right  one,  and  so  ultimately 
obtained  the  information  I  wanted. 

The  fellow  was  then  arrested,  and  brought  before  Sir  B. 
Bimie.  The  magistrate  was  much  surprised  that  so  clever  a 
fellow  should  not  have  been  known  to  any  of  his  oflScers. 
After  a  long  examination,  I  stated  to  the  magistrate,  that 
though  I  was  very  reluctant  to  appear  before  the  public  in 
such  a  case,  yet  that  if  he  thought  it  a  public  duty,  I  should 
not  shrink  from  it.  Sir  Richard  remarked,  that  the  incon- 
venience of  my  attending  two  or  three  days  to  prosecute  would 
be  very  great — that  the  fellow  was  so  accomplished  an  artist^ 
that  it  was  very  doubtful  if  he  could  be  convicted.  He  then 
added,  that  the  best  thing  to  be  done  for  the  man  himself 
would  be,  if  I  could  produce  any  new  evidence,  that  he 
should  be  remanded  for  a  week,  to  hear  it,  and  then  be  dis- 
charged with  a  caution  from  the  bench. 

As  my  servants  could  give  additional  evidence,  the  fellow 
was  remanded  for  a  week,  then  duly  lectured  and  discharged. 

In  the  course  of  my  efforts  to  inform  myself  of  the  real 
wants  of  those  around  me,  I  profited  much  by  the  experience 
of  one  or  two  friends,  both  most  excellent  and  kind-hearted 
men,  whose  official  duties  rendered  them  far  more  conversant 
than  myself  with  the  subject  Mr.  Walker  and  Mr.  Broderip, 
)x)th  of  them  magistrates,  were  amongut  my  intimate  friends. 


260  VALUABLE  MAGISTRATES. 

Mr.  Walker,  the  author  of  "  The  Original/'  maintained  that 
no  one  ever  was  actually  starred  in  London,  except  throng^h 
his  own  folly  or  fault 

The  result  of  my  own  experience  leads  me  to  recommend 
all  those  who  do  not  possess  time  and  the  requisite  energies 
for  personal  inquiries,  to  place  the  means  they  wish  to  deTote 
to  charity  in  the  hands  of  some  sensible  and  kind-hearted 
magistrate. 

I  hare  been  present,  in  the  course  of  my  life,  at  many  < 
brought  before  our  London  police  magistrates.  They 
an  immense  power  of  doing  good — a  power  of  making  the  law 
respected,  not  by  its  punishments,  but  by  their  own  kindli- 
ness of  manner  and  thoughtful  consideration  for  the  feelings 
of  those  brought  into  dose  contact  with  them. 

Plain  common  sense,  a  kind  heart,  and,  above  all,  the  feel- 
ings of  a  thorough  gentleman,  are  invaluable  qualities  in  a 
magistrate.  They  give  dignity  to  the  court  over  which  he 
presides,  as  well  as  an  example  which  will  be  insensibly  fol- 
lowed by  all  its  officers.  I  have  seen  cases  from  which  my 
own  avocations  have  imperatively  called  me  away,  when  I 
would  gladly  have  remained  to  admire  the  kindness  and  the 
tact  with  which  entangled  questions  have  been  gradually 
brought  to  a  humane  and  just  conclusion. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THEATBIOAL   EXPEBIENCE. 

The  PhiloBopher  in  a  Tableau  at  the  Feet  of  Beanty — Tableau  encored — 
rhiloeopher  at  the  Opera  of  *  Don  Juan  •  —  Visits  the  Water-works 
above  and  the  dark  expanse  below  the  Stage — Seized  by  two  Devils  oq 
their  way  up  to  fetch  Juan — Cheated  the  Devils  by  springing  off  to  a 
beam  at  an  infinite  distance,  just  as  his  head  appeared  to  the  Audience 
through  the  trap-door — ^The  Philosopher  writes  a  Ballet — Its  rehearsal- 
Its  high  moral  tone —Its  rejection  on  the  ground  of  the  probable  com- 
bustion of  the  Opera-house. 

I  WAS  never  particularly  devoted  to  theatrical  representa- 
tions. Tragedy  I  disliked,  and  comedy,  which  I  enjoyed, 
frequently  excited  my  feelings  more  than  the  dignity  of  the 
philosophic  character  sanctioned.  In  fact,  I  could  not  stand 
the  reconciliation  scenes. 

I  did,  however,  occasionally,  in  one  or  two  rare  instances, 
(usid  in  a  tableau.  I  still  remember  my  delight  when  per- 
sonating a  dead  body,  with  my  head  towards  the  audience,  I 
lay  motionless  at  the  feet  of  three  angels,  entranced  by  their 
beauty,  and  whose  charms  still  fascinate  my  imagination,  and 
still  retain  their  wonted  power  over  my  own  sex. 

We  enacted  the  scene  so  admirably  that  our  performance 
was  twice  encored.  But  though  thus  **  thrice  slain,**  the  near 
proximity  of  beauty  speedily  revived  the  *  caput  mortuum ' 
at  its  feet. 

On  one  occasion  having  joined  a  party  of  friends  in  their 
box  at  the  opera  of  '  Don  Juan,*  I  escaiied,  by  half  a  second. 


252  ADVENTURE  AT  THE  OPERA. 

a  marvellous  adyenture.  Somewhat  fatigued  with  the  opera, 
I  went  behind  the  scenes  to  look  at  the  mechanism.  One  of 
the  scene-shifters  of  whom  I  had  made  an  inquiry,  found  oat 
that  I,  like  himself,  was  a  workman.  He  immediately  offered 
to  take  me  all  over  the  theatre,  and  show  me  every  part. 

We  ascended  to  the  roof  to  examine  the  ventilation,  by 
which,  if  stopped,  the  spectators,  in  case  of  accident  or  of  a  row, 
might  be  suffocated.  Also,  the  vast  water-tanks  by  which, 
in  case  of  fire,  tliey  might  be  drowned.  After  long  rambling 
and  descending  endless  steps,  I  found  myself  in  a  vast  dark 
and  apparently  boundless  area;  the  flat  wooden  roof  high 
above  my  head  was  supported  by  upright  timbers,  some  having 
intermediate  stages  like  large  dissecting-tables.  Here  and 
there  three  lamps,  rivalling  rushlights,  made  the  obscurity 
more  visible,  and  the  carpentry  more  incomprehensible. 

Suddenly  a  little  bell  rang — the  signal  for  my  scenenshifting 
friend  to  take  his  post  He  pointed  to  one  of  the  dismal 
imitations  of  a  ruslJight,  and  said :  "  You  see  that  light ;  on 
"  its  left  is  a  door,  go  through  that,  and  straight  on  imtil  you 
"  arrive  at  daylight."  Instantly  my  friend  became  invisible  in 
the  surrounding  gloom. 

My  first  step  when  thus  suddenly  abandoned,  was  to  momit 
on  a  large  oblong  platform  about  six  feet  above  the  floor. 
Here  I  was  philosophically  contemplating  the  surrounding 
obsciu-e  vacuity,  in  order  that  I  might  fully  "  comprehend  the 
situation." 

Suddenly  a  flash  of  lightning  occurred.  On  looking  up, 
high  above  my  head  I  saw  an  opening  as  large  as  the  platform 
on  which  I  stood.  All  there  was  brightness.  Whilst  I  was 
admiring  this  new  light,  and  seeking  my  way  to  the  upper  and 
outer  world,  two  devils  with  long  forked  tails  jumped  upon  the 
platform,  one  at  each  end. 


ESCAPE  FROM  THE  DEVILS.  258 

"  What  do  you  do  here  ?*  said  Devil  No.  1. 

Before  I  could  invent  a  decent  excuse.  Devil  No.  2  ex- 
claimed : 

"  You  must  not  come  with  us." 

Tills  was  consolatory  and  reassuring,  so  I  replied — 

"  Heaven  forbid." 

During  this  colloquy,  the  table,  the  philosopher,  and  the 
devils,  were  all  slowly  moving  upward  to  tlie  open  trap-door 
of  the  stage  above.  Seeing  a  beam  some  feet  higher  at  a 
moderate  distance,  I  inquired  whether  it  was  fixed  and  would 
bear  my  weight  ?   "  Yes,"  said  Devil  No.  1. 

"  But  you  cannot  reach  it  at  a  jump,"  added  Devil  No.  2. 

"  Trust  that  to  me,"  said  I,  "  to  get  out  of  your  clutches." 

We  had  now  reached  the  level  of  the  desired  beam,  though 
not  near  enough  for  a  jump.  However,  still  ascending,  we 
passed  it :  then  stooping  my  head  and  bending  my  body  to 
avoid  tlie  floor  of  the  stage,  which  we  were  fast  approaching, 
I  sprang  do^vn  on  the  beam  of  refuge.  My  two  missionary 
companions  continued  their  course  to  the  world  above  in 
order  to  convey  the  wicked  Juan  to  the  realms  below.  My 
transit  through  the  dark,  subterranean  abyss  to  my  own 
world  above  was  rapid.  I  soon  rejoined  my  companions,  who 
congratulated  me  on  what  they  represented  as  my  '  undeserved 
escape:'  kindly  hoping  that  I  might  be  equally  fortunate 
upon  some  future  occasion. 

Presence  of  mind  frequently  arises  from  having  previously 
considered  a  variety  of  possible  events.  I  had  never  con- 
templated such  a  situation,  and  have  often  asked  myself  and 
others  what  should  have  been  my  conduct,  in  case  I  had  not 
escaped  from  my  satanic  companions;  but  no  satisfactory 
conclusion  has  yet  presented  itself. 

During  one  season,  I  had  a  stall  at  the  German  Opera. 


264  STALL  AT  THE  OPERA. 

One  evening,  in  the  cloister  scene  by  moonlight,  in  the 
convent^  I  observed  that  the  white  bonnet  of  my  companion 
had  a  pink  tint :  so  also  had  the  paper  of  our  books  and  every 
white  object  around  us. 

This  contrast  of  colour  suggested  to  me  the  direct  use  of 
coloured  lights.  The  progress  of  science  in  producing  intense 
lights  by  the  oxy-hydrogen  blowpipe,  and  by  electricity  under 
its  various  forms,  enabled  me  to  carry  out  the  idea  of  pro- 
ducing coloured  lights  for  theatrical  representations.  I  made 
many  experiments  by  filling  cells  formed  by  pieces  of  parallel 
plate  glass  with  solutions  of  various  salts  of  clirome  of 
copper^  and  of  other  substances. 

The  effects  were  superb.  I  then  devised  a  dance,  in  which 
they  might  be  splendidly  exhibited.  This  was  called  the 
rainbow  dance.  I  proposed  to  abolish  the  foot-lights,  and 
instead  of  them  to  substitute  four  urns  with  flowers.  These 
urns  would  each  conceal  from  the  audience  an  intense  light  of 
one  of  the  following  colours :  blue,  yellow,  red,  or  any  others 
which  might  be  preferable. 

The  rays  of  light  would  be  projected  from  the  vases  towards 
the  stage,  and  would  form  four  cones  of  red,  blue,  yellow,  and 
purple  light  passing  to  its  further  end. 

Four  groups,  each  of  fifteen  danseuses  in  pure  white,  would 
now  enter  on  the  stage.  Each  group  would  assume  the  colour 
of  the  light  in  which  it  was  placed.  Thus  four  dances  each  of 
a  different  colour  would  commence.  Occasionally,  a  damsel 
from  a  group  of  one  colour  would  spring  into  another  group, 
thus  resembling  a  shooting  star. 

After  a  time,  the  coloured  lights  would  expand  laterally 
and  overlap  each  other,  thus  producing  all  the  colours  of  the 
rainbow.  In  the  mean  time  the  sixty  damsels  in  pure  white 
forming  one  vast  ellipse,  would  dance  round,  each  in  turn 


THE  PHILOSOPHER  WRITES  A  BALLET.  256 

assuming,  as  it  passed  through  them,  all  the  prismatic 
colours. 

I  had  mentioned  these  experiments  and  ideas  to  a  few  of  my 
friends,  one  of  whom  spoke  of  it  to  Mr.  Lumley,  the  lessee  of 
the  Italian  Opera  House.  He  thought  it  promised  well,  and 
ultimately  I  made  a  series  of  experiments  in  the  great  concert- 
room. 

Bopes  were  stretched  across  the  room,  on  which  were  hung 
in  innumerable  forms  large  sheets  of  patent  net  The  various 
folds  and  bendings  displayed  the  lights  under  endless  modifi- 
cations. Some  brilliant  greens,  some  fiery  reds,  blues  of  the 
brightest  hue.  Another  of  these  was  an  almost  perfect  resem- 
blance of  the  dead  purple  powdery  coating  of  the  finest 
grapes. 

Things  being  thus  prepared,  I  had  a  consultation  with  the 
eminent  ehef-de-baHet  as  to  the  kind  of  dance  and  the 
nature  of  the  steps  to  be  adapted  to  these  gorgeous  colours. 
Thus  haying  invented  the  ''  Bainbow  Dance''  I  became  still 
more  ambitious,  and  even  thought  of  writing  a  story  to  intro- 
duce it,  and  to  give  it  a  moral  character.  Hence  arose  the 
beautiful  ballet  of  *  Alethes  and  Iris.' 

Alethes,  a  priest  of  the  Sun,  surrounded  by  every  luxury 
that  earth  can  lay  at  the  feet  of  its  god,  feels,  like  all  before 
him,  that  the  most  glorious  life  is  sad  without  a  companion  to 
sympathize  with  his  feelings  and  share  in  his  enjoyments. 
He  makes,  therefore,  a  magnificent  sacrifice  to  the  god  of 
this  visible  creation,  and  prays  for  the  gratification  of  his 
solitary  desire. 

Apart  from  all  the  inferior  orders  of  his  class,  in  the  midst 
of  clouds  of  incense,  the  high  priest  himself  becomes  en- 
tranced. 

He  beholds  in  a  vision  a  distant  and  lonely  spot  of  bright 


256  ALETHES  AND  iftlS. 

light.  Adyancing  towards  him,  it  assumes  a  circular  form, 
having  a  small  yellow  centre  surrounded  by  a  deep  blue  con- 
fined within  a  brilliant  red  circle. 

Betaining  its  shape,  but  slowly  enlarging  in  size,  it  becomes 
a  circular  rainbow,  out  of  which  emerges  a  form  of  beauty 
more  resplendent  than  mortal  eyes  might  bear.  Approaching 
the  Book  of  Fate,  which  lies  closed  upon  a  golden  pedestal  in 
this  the  deepest  and  most  sacred  portion  of  the  Temple  of  the 
Sun,  she  opens  it  and  inscribes  in  purple  symbols  these 
mystic  signs. 


Then  waving  her  graceful  arm  over  the   entranced  high 
priest,  she  re-enters  the  aerial  circle  :  it  closes  and  retires. 

Alethes,  recovering  fix)m  the  magic  spells  his  powerful  art 
had  wrought,  rushes  to  the  Book  of  Fate,  opens,  and  reads  the 
revelation  it  unfolds. 

Throagb  ocean's  depths  to  southern  ice-fields  roam. 
Through  solid  strata  seek  earth's  central  fire. 

Gull  from  each  wondrous  field,  each  distant  home. 
An  offiiring  meet  for  her  thy  soul's  desire. 

This  gives  rise  to  a  series  of  moving  and  most  instructive 
dioramas,  in  which  the  travels  of  Alethes  are  depicted. 

1.  A  representation  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  ocean, 
comprising  big  fishes,  lobsters,  and  various  Crustacea, 
mollusca,  coralines,  &c. 

2.  A  view  of  the  antarctic  regions, — a  continent  of  ice 
with  an  active  volcano  and  a  river  of  boiling  water, 
supplied  by  geysers  cutting  their  way  through  cliffs  of 
blue  ice. 

3.  A  diorama  representing  the  animals  whose  various 


man  MORAL  VIEW.  267 

remains  are  contained  in  each  successiTe  layer  of  the 
earth's  crust  In  the  lower  portions  sjrmptoms  of 
increasing  heat  show  themselves  until  the  centre  is 
reached,  which  contains  a  liquid  transparent  sea, 
consisting  of  some  fluid  at  a  white  heat,  which,  how- 
ever, is  filled  up  with  little  infinitesimal  eels,  all  of 
one  sort,  wriggling  eternally. 

This  would  have  produced  a  magnificent  spectacle  con- 
sidered merely  as  a  show,  but  the  moralist  might,  if  he 
pleased,  have  discovered  in  it  a  profound  philosophy. 

The  ennui  and  lassitude  felt  by  the  priest  of  the  Sun  arose 
from  the  want  of  occupation  for  his  powerful  mind.  The 
remedy  proposed  in  the  ballet  was — look  into  all  the  works 
of  creation. 

The  central  ocean  of  frying  eels  was  added  to  assist  the 
teaching  of  those  ministers  who  prefer  the  doctrine  of  the 
eternity  of  bodily  torments.* 

The  m'glit  proposed  for  the  experiment  of  the  dance  at 
length  arrived.  Two  fire-engines  duly  prepared  were  placed 
on  the  stage  under  the  care  of  a  portion  of  the  fire  brigade. 

About  a  dozen  danseuses  in  their  white  dresses  danced 
and  attitudinized  in  the  rays  of  powerful  oxy-hydrogen  blow- 

*  An  ancestor  of  mine^  Dr.  Barthugge,  a  great  friend  of  Jolin  Locke,  wrote, 
I  regret  totayit,  a  boc^  to  prove  the  eternity  of  torments;  0OI  felt  ita  kind  of 
hereditary  daty  to  gi?e  him  a  lift.  The  argnmenta,  such  as  tliey  are,  of  my 
wealthy  and  therefore  reyeied  ancestor  are  contained  in  a  work  whose  title 
is  "Gaosa  Dei ;  or,  an  Apology  for  God,"  wherein  the  perpetuity  of  infismal 
torments  is  evinced,  and  Divine  justice  (that  notwithstanding)  defended.  By 
Biduud  Bnrthogge,  HD.  London :  Imprinted  at  the  Three  Daggers,  Fleet 
Street,  1675. 

The  learned  Tobias  Swinden,  MjL,  late  rector  of  Cuxton,  in  his  "Enquiry 
into  the  Nature  and  Place  of  Hell,"  2nd  edition,  1727,  has  discovered  that  its 
locality  is  in  tlie  Sun.  The  accurate  map  he  gives  of  that  luminary  renders  it 
highly  probable  that  the  red  flames  so  well  observed  and  photographed  by 
Mr.  De  La  Bue  during  a  recent  total  eclipse  have  a  rtal  exittteDce. 


258  COMBUSTION  THE  ENEMY  OF  GENIUS. 

pipes.  The  various  brilliant  hues  of  coloured  light  had  an 
admirable  effect  on  the  lovely  fire-flies,  especially  as  they 
flitted  across  from  one  region  of  coloured  light  to  another. 

A  few  days  after  I  called  on  Mr.  Lumley,  to  inquire  what 
conclusion  he  had  arrived  at  He  expressed  great  admiration 
at  the  brilliancy  of  the  colours  and  the  effect  of  the  Bainbow 
Dance,  but  much  feared  the  danger  of  fire.  I  tried  to  reas- 
sure him ;  and  to  show  that  I  apprehended  no  danger  from 
fire,  added,  that  I  should  myself  be  present  every  nigbt. 
Mr.  Lumley  remarked  that  if  the  house  were  burnt  his  cus- 
tomers would  also  be  burnt  with  it  This  certainly  was  a 
valid  objection,  for  though  he  could  have  insured  the  building, 
he  could  not  have  insured  his  audience. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

ELBCTIONEEBINQ  EXFEBIENOE. 

The  late  Lord  Lyndhurat  candidate  for  the  Univereity  of  Cambridge — ^The 
Pliiloeopher  refuaea  to  vote  for  him — ^The  reason  why — Example  of  un- 
rivalled virtue— In  1829  Mr.  Cavendish  was  a  Candidate  for  that  Uni- 
versity— ^The  Author  was  Chairman  of  his  London  Committee — ^Motivea 
for  putting  men  on  Committees — Of  the  pairing  Sub-Committee — 
Motives  for  Voting — ^Means  of  influencing  Voters — ^Voters  brought  from 
Berlin  and  from  India— Elections  after  the  Reform  Bill,  1882— The 
Author  again  requested  to  be  Chairman  of  Mr.  Cavendish's  Committee — 
Reserves  three  days  in  case  of  a  Contest  for  Bridgenorth — ^It  occurs,  but 
is  arranged — Bridgenorth  being  secure,  the  Author  gets  up  a  Contest  for 
Shropshire — Patriotic  Fund  sends  600^.  to  assist  the  Ccmtest— It  lasts 
three  days — Reflections  on  Squibs — Borough  of  Finsbury — ^Adventure 
in  an  Omnibus — A  judicious  Loan — Subsequent  invitation  to  stand  (at 
Stroud — ^Declined — ^Reflections  on  improper  influence  on  Voters. 

When  the  late  Lord  Ljndhurst  was  a  candidate  for  the  re- 
presentation of  the  University  of  Cambridge^  I  met  Mr. , 

a  Whig  in  politics,  and  a  great  friend  of  Dr.  Wollaston. 
After  the  usual  salutation,  he  said,  **  I  hope  you  will  go  down 
^  to  Cambridge  and  vote  for  our  firiend  Copley."  I  made  no 
answer,  but,  looking  full  in  his  face,  waited  for  some  explana- 
tion.   "  Oh,*"  said  Mr. ,  **  I  see  what  you  mean.    You 

*^  think  him  a  Tory ;  Copley  still  is  what  he  always  has  been 
''  — a  republican.**  I  replied  that  I  was  equally  unable  to 
Tote  for  him  upon  that  ground,  and  wished  my  friend  good 
morning. 

8  2 


260  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  ELECTION. 

A  few  evenings  after  I  met  the  beautiful  Lady  Copley, 
who  also  cauTassed  me  for  my  vote  for  her  husband.  I  had 
the  energy  to  resist  even  this  temptation,  which  I  should  not 
have  ventured  to  mention  did  not  the  poll-book  enable  me  to 
refer  to  it  as  a  witness  of  my  unrivalled  virtue. 

Some  years  after,  in  1829,  a  vacancy  again  arose  in  the 
representation  of  the  University  of  Cambridge.  Mr.  Caven- 
dish having  recently  waived  the  privilege  of  his  rank,  which 
entitled  him,  after  a  residence  of  two  years,  to  take  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  had  entered  into  competition  with 
the  whole  of  the  young  men  of  his  own  standing,  and  had 
obtained  the  distinguished  position  of  second  wrangler  and 
senior  Smith's  prize  man.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  was 
quite  natural  that  all  those  who  felt  it  important  that  the 
accidental  aristocracy  of  birth  should  be  able  to  maintain  its 
position  by  the  higher  claim  of  superior  knowledge ;  as  well 
as  all  those  who  took  a  just  pride  in  their  Alma  Mater,  should 
wish  to  send  such  a  man  as  their  representative  to  the  House 
of  Commons. 

A  very  large  meeting  of  the  electors  was  held  in  London, 
over  which  the  Earl  of  Euston  presided.  It  was  unanimously 
resolved  to  nominate  Mr.  Cavendish  as  a  proper  person  to 
represent  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  carry  on  the 
election,  of  which  I  was  nominated  chairman.  Similar  pro- 
ceedings took  place  at  Cambridge.  The  family  of  the  young 
but  distinguished  candidate  were  not  at  first  very  willing  to 
enter  upon  the  contest.  As  it  advanced,  the  committee-room 
became  daily  more  and  more  frequented.  Ultimately,  in  the 
midst  of  the  London  season,  and  during  the  sitting  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  this  single  election  excited  an  intense 
interest  amongst  men  of  all  parties,  whilst  those  who  sup- 


MOTIVES  FOR  BEING  ON  A  COMMITTEE.  261 

ported  Mr.  Cavendish  upon  higher  grounds  were  not  less 
active  than  the  most  energetic  of  his  political  supporters. 

At  all  elections  some  few  men,  perhaps  from  four  or  flye 
up  to  ten  or  twelve,  do  all  the  difficult  and  real  work  of  the 
committee.  The  committee  itself  is,  for  several  reasons, 
generally  very  numerous. 

All  who  are  supposed  to  have  weight  are,  of  course,  put 
upon  it. 

Many  who  wish  to  appear  to  have  weight  get  their  names 
upon  it. 

Some  get  put  upon  it  thinking  to  establish  a  political  claim 
upon  the  fariy. 

Others  because  they  like  to  see  their  names  in  the  news- 
papers. 

Others  again,  who,  if  not  on  his  committee,  would  vote 
against  the  candidate. 

There  are  also  idlers  and  busybodies,  who  go  there  to  talk 
or  to  carry  away  something  to  talk  about,  which  may  give 
them  importance  in  their  own  circle. 

Young  lawyers,  of  both  departments  of  the  profession,  are 
very  numerous,  possessing  acute  perceptions  of  professional 
advantage. 

A  jester  and  a  good  story-teller  are  very  useful;  but  a 
joUy  and  enterprising  professor  of  rhodomontade  is  on  some 
occasions  invaluable — ^more  especially  if  he  is  not  an  Irish- 
man. 

Occasionally  a  few  simply  honest  men  are  found  upon 
committees.  These  are  useful  as  adjuncts  to  give  a  kind  of 
high  moral  character  to  the  cause ;  but  the  rest  of  the  com- 
mittee generaUy  think  them  bores,  and  when  they  differ 
upon  any  point  from  the  worldly  members,  it  is  invariably 
whispered  that  they  are  crotchety  fellows. 


262  OP  THE  PAIRING  CJOMMITTEE. 

When  any  peculiarly  delicate  question  arises,  it  is  sometimeB 
important  to  eliminate  one  or  more  of  them  temporarily  fix>m 
the  reai  committee  of  management  This  is  accomplished  (as 
in  graver  matters)  by  sending  him  on  an  embassy,  usually  to 
one  of  the  adepts,  with  a  confidential  mission  on  a  subject  re- 
presented to  him  as  of  great  importance.  The  adept  respect- 
fully asks  for  his  view  of  the  subject,  rather  opposes  it,  bat 
not  too  strongly ;  is  at  last  convinced,  and  ultimately  entirely 
adopts  it  The  adept  then  enters  upon  the  honest  simple- 
ton's crotchet,  trots  it  out  in  the  most  indulgent  manner,  and 
at  length  sends  him  back,  having  done  the  double  service  of 
withdrawing  him  from  a  consultation  at  which  he  might  have 
impeded  the  good  cause,  and  also  of  enabling  him  at  any 
future  time  to  declare  truly,  if  necessary,  that  he  never  was 
present  at  any  meeting  at  which  even  a  questionable  coarse 
had  been  proposed. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  as  well  as  of  the  most  important 
departments  of  some  elections  is  the  pairing  sub-committee. 
When  I  had  myself  to  arrange  it,  I  generally  picked  out  two 
of  the  cleverest  and  most  quick-witted  of  the  committee.  I 
told  them  I  had  perfect  confidence  in  their  judgment  and 
discretion,  and  therefore  constituted  them  a  sub-committee, 
with  absolute  power  on  all  questions  of  pairing.  I  also 
entirely  forbade  any  appeal  to  myself.  I  then  advised  them 
to  have  attached  to  them  a  couple  of  good  and  entertaining 
talkers,  to  hold  in  play  the  applicants  while  they  retired  to 
ascertain  the  policy  of  the  proposed  pair. 

Upon  one  occasion,  when  both  my  persuasive  gentlemen 
were  absent,  I  was  obliged  to  officiate  mysel£  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  adverse  vote  was  very  lukewarm  in  his  own 
cause,  and  was  also  very  averse  to  the  prospect  of  migging  a 
great  cricket-match  if  he  went  to  the  poll.      Whilst  my 


PRIMITIVE  PURITY— IT  WONT  DO.  263 

pairing  oommittee  weie  making  the  necessary  inqniriee,  1 
was  so  fortunate  as  to  secnre  the  promise  of  his  vote  for  my 
own  candidate  at  the  succeeding  election.  In  the  meantime 
the  pairing  committee  had  kindly  taken  measures  to  save  him 
from  missing  his  cricket-match  without,  howeTer,  wasting  a 
pair. 

Yet  notwithstanding  all  my  efforts  to  introduce  primitive 
virtue  into  electioneering,  I  did  not  always  succeed.  About 
a  dozen  years  had  elapsed  after  one  of  the  elections  I  had 
managed,  when  the  subject  was  mentioned  at  a  large  dinner- 
table.  A  supporter  of  the  adverse  political  party,  referring 
to  the  contest,  stated  as  a  merii  in  his  friends  that  they  had 
succeeded  in  outwitting  their  opponents,  for  on  one  occasion 
they  had  got  a  man  on  their  side  who  had  unluckily  just 
broken  his  arm,  whom  they  succeeded  in  pairing  off  against 
a  sound  man  of  their  adversaries.  Bemembering  my  able 
coadjutors  in  that  contest,  I  had  little  doubt  that  a  good 
explanation  existed ;  so  the  next  time  I  met  one  of  them  I 
mentioned  the  circumstance.  He  at  once  admitted  the  fact, 
and  said,  **  We  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  man's  arm  was 
"  broken ;  but  our  man,  whom  we  paired  off  against  him,  had 
"  no  wAer  He  then  added,  **  We  were  a&aid  to  tell  you  of 
"  our  success.*'  To  which  I  replied,  "  You  acted  with  great 
"  discretion." 

University  elections  are  of  quite  a  different  class  from  all 
others.  The  nature  of  the  influences  to  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  voters  is  of  a  peculiar  kind :  the  clerical  element  is 
large,  and  they  are  for  the  greater  part  expectant  of  some- 
thing better  hereafter. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  in  any  election  contest  is  to  get 
as  exact  a  list  as  possible  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  the 
voters.     In  a  university  contest  the  chairman  should  adopt 


264  MATERIALS  FOR  CANVASSING. 

certain  letters  or  other  signs  to  be  used  in  his  own  private 
copy  attached  to  the  names  of  the  clerical  voters.  These 
should  indicate — 

The  books  such  voter  may  have  written. 

The  nature  of  his  preferment. 

The  source  whence  derived. 

The  nature  of  his  expectations. 

The  source  whence  expected. 

The  age  of  the  impediment. 

The  state  of  its  health. 

The  chance  of  its  promotion. 

Possessed  of  a  full  knowledge  of  all  these  circumstanceSy  a 
paragraph  in  a  newspaper  regretting  the  alarming  state  of 
health  of  some  eminent  divine  will  frequently  decide  the 
oscillation  even  of  a  cautious  voter. 

This  dodge  is  the  more  easily  practised  because  some 
eminent  divines,  on  the  approach  of  an  university  election, 
occasionally  become  ill,  and  even  take  to  their  bed,  in  order 
to  avoid  the  bore  of  being  canvassed,  or  of  committing 
themselves  until  they  see  "  how  the  land  lies." 

The  motives  which  induce  men  to  act  upon  election  com- 
mittees are  various.  The  hope  of  advancement  is  a  powerful 
motive.  It  was  stated  to  me  by  some  of  my  committee,  that 
every  really  working  member  of  the  committee  which  a  few 
years  before  had  managed  the  election  of  Copley  for  the 
University  of  Cambridge  had  already  been  rewarded  by  place 
or  advancement 

My  two  most  active  lieutenants  in  the  two  contests  for 
Cambridge,  to  which  I  have  referred,  were  not  neglected. 
One  of  them  shortly  after  became  a  Master  in  Chancery,  and 
the  other  had  a  place  in  India,  producing  £10,000  a  year. 


GOT  A  VOTER  FROM  BERLIN.  286 

The  highest  compliment,  however,  that  party  can  pay  to 
those  who  thus  assist  them  is  entirely  to  ignore  their  service, 
and  pass  them  over  on  every  occasion.  This  may  be  done 
with  impunity  to  the  very  few  who  have  such  strong  convic- 
tions that  no  amount  of  neglect  or  ill-usage  can  cause  them 
to  desert  those  principles  of  the  soundness  of  which  their 
reason  is  convinced.  This  course  has  also  the  great  advantage 
of  economizing  patronaga 

Always  ascertain  who  are  the  personal  enemies  of  the 
opposing  candidate.  If  skilfully  managed,  you  may  safely 
depend  upon  their  becoming  the  warmest  friends  of  your  own. 
Their  enthusiasm  can  be  easily  stimulated :  their  zeal  in  the 
cause  may  shame  some  of  your  own  lukewarm  friends  into 
greater  earnestness.  Men  will  always  give  themselves  tenfold 
more  trouble  to  crush  a  man  obnoxious  to  their  hatred  than 
they  will  take  to  serve  their  most  favoured  ally. 

When  I  have  been  chairman  of  an  election  comnuttee  I 
have  found  it  advantageous  to  conunence  my  duties  early  in 
the  morning,  and  to  remain  until  Isie  at  night  There  is 
always  something  to  be  done  for  the  advancement  of  the 
cause.  In  the  first  Cambridge  election  in  which  I  took  part 
I  invariably  remained  at  my  post  until  midnight ;  and  in  the 
second,  I  was  seldom  absent  at  that  hour. 

One  evening,  being  alone,  I  employed  myself  in  looking 
through  our  lists  to  find  the  names  of  all  voters  at  that  period 
unaccounted  for.  The  first  name  which  attracted  my  atten- 
tion was  that  of  a  liberal  with  whom  I  was  personally  unac- 
quainted. The  next  day  I  set  at  work  one  of  my  investigating 
committee.  In  the  course  of  the  following  day,  he  had  traced 
out  the  voter,  who  at  that  time  was  at  Berlin.  As  there  was 
ample  time  for  his  return,  a  friend  was  employed  to  write  to 
him,  and  he  returned  and  voted  for  our  candidate. 


266  NEGLECT  NO  CHANCE. 

On  another  evening,  the  name  of  Minchin  turned  up  on 
the  list  I  remembered  the  man,  whom  I  had  met  very 
frequently  at  the  rooms  of  one  of  my  most  intimate  Mends; 
but  I  had  not  seen  him  for  nearly  twenty  years. 

The  next  day,  after  many  inquiries,  I  found  that  he 
had  been  lost  sight  of  for  a  long  time,  and  it  was  believed 
that  he  had  gone  out  to  India.  I  immediately  sent  a  note 
to  a  friend  of  mine,  Captain  Bobert  Locke,  who  commanded 
an  Indiaman,  to  beg  of  him  to  look  in  upon  me  at  the 
committee-room.  In  two  hours  he  called  and  informed  me 
that  Minchin  was  a  barrister  at  Calcutta,  and  was  about  to 
return  to  England.  On  my  expressing  a  wish  for  further 
particulars,  he  kindly  went  into  the  City  to  procure  informa- 
tion, and  on  his  return  told  me  that  Minchin  was  on  his 
voyage  home  in  the  '^  Herefordshire,'*  an  excellent  ship.  It 
was  due  on  a  certain  day,  about  a  fortnight  thence,  and  would 
in  all  probability  not  be  tliree  days  behind  its  time. 

In  the  evening,  being  again  alone  in  the  committee-room, 
I  resumed  the  Minchin  question,  and  found  that  he  might 
possibly  arrive  on  the  second  of  the  three  days'  polling.  I 
therefore  wrote  the  following  letter : — 

Dear  Minchin, 

If  twenty  years  have  not  altered  your  political  prin- 
ciples, we  have  now  an  opportunity  of  getting  in  a  Liberal  to 
represent  our  University. 

The  three  days  of  polling  are        

If  you  arrive  in  time,  pray  come  immediately  to  my  com- 
mittee-room in  Cockspur  Street 

Yours  truly, 

C.  Babbage. 

I  addressed  this  letter  to  Minchin  at  Portsmouth,   and 


GOT  A  VOTER  PROM  INDIA.  267 

making  two  copies  of  it,  directed  them  to  two  other  sea- 
ports. When  I  put  these  letters  into  the  basket,  I  smiled 
at  my  own  simplicity  in  speculating  on  the  triple  improba- 
bility— 

1.  That  Minchin  should  ever  get  my  letter. 

2.  That  his  ship,  which  was  expected,   should  really 

arrive  on  the  second  or  third  of  the  three  days  of 
polling. 

3.  That  a  young  lawyer  should  not  have  changed  his 

political  principles  in  twenty  years. 

However,  I  considered  that  the  chance  of  this  election 
lottery-ticket  winning  for  us  a  vote,  although  very  small, 
was  at  least  worth  the  three  sheets  of  letter-paper  which  it 
cost  our  candidate. 

Amidst  the  bustle  of  the  election  this  subject  was  entirely 
forgotten.  The  first  day  of  polling  arrived,  and  was  con- 
cluded, and  as  usual  I  was  sitting,  at  midnight,  alone  in  the 
large  committee-room,  when  the  door  opened,  and  there 
entered  a  man  enveloped  in  a  huge  box-coat,  who  advanced 
towards  me.  He  held  out  his  hand,  and  grasping  mine,  said, 
'*  I  have  not  altered  my  political  principles.**  This  was 
Minchin,  to  whom  the  pilot,  cruizing  about  on  the  look-out 
for  the  **  Herefordshire,"  had  delivered  a  packet  of  lettera 

The  first  letter  Minchin  opened  was  mine.  He  imme- 
diately went  below,  told  his  wife  that  he  must  get  into  the 
boat  which  had  just  put  the  pilot  on  board,  and  hasten  to 
Cambridge,  whilst  she  remained  with  the  children  to  pursue 
their  voyage  to  London.  Minchin  returned  in  the  pilot-boat 
to  Portsmouth,  found  a  coach  just  ready  to  start,  got  up  on 
the  roof,  borrowed  a  box-coat,  and  on  arriving  in  London, 
drove    directly  to  the    committee-room.     Finding  that  it 


268  ELECTION  AFTER  THE  REFORM  BILL. 

would  be  most  convenient  to  Minchin  to  start  immediately 
for  Cambridge,  I  sent  off  a  note  to  the  Temple  for  the  most 
entertaining  man  *  upon  the  committee ;  I  introduced  him  to 
Minchin,  and  they  posted  down  to  Cambridge,  and  voted  on 
the  second  day. 

Greatly  to  the  credit  and  to  the  advantage  of  the  XJniver- 
sity,  Mr.  Cavendish  was  elected  on  this  occasion. 

In  May,  1832,  after  the  passing  of  the  Beform  Bill,  there 
was  a  dissolution  of  Parliament.  At  the  general  'election 
which  ensued.  Lord  Palmerston  and  Mr.  Cavendish,  the  two 
former  members,  again  became  candidates.  Two  of  the  most 
active  members  of  Mr.  Cavendish's  former  committee  called 
upon  me,  one  of  whom  began  speaking  in  somewhat  compli- 
mentary phrases  of  our  young  candidate.  I  was  listening 
attentively  to  all  that  could  be  said  in  favour  of  the  Cavendish 
fiEonily,  when  his  companion,  suddenly  interrupting  him,  said, 

**  No, that  won't  do  for  Babbage."     He  then  continued, 

in  terms  which  I  have  no  wish  to  repeat,  to  speak  of  our 
candidate,  and  concluded  by  saying,  that  they  expressed 
the  opinion  of  all  the  working  members  of  the  former  com- 
mittee, and  came  by  their  desire  to  request  me  again  to  take 
the  chair  during  the  approaching  contest ;  stating,  also,  that 
there  was  no  other  man  under  whom  they  would  all  willingly 
acC  He  then  entreated  me  to  be  their  chairman,  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  Cavendishes,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  cause. 

This  appeal  was  irresistible.  I  immediately  acceded  to 
their  request,  but  with  one  reservation,  in  case  my  brother-in- 
law's  seat  was  contested,  that  I  should  have  three  days  to 
help  him  at  BridgenortL 

Under  such  circumstances  the  contest  commenced.  I  can 
^  My  friend,  John  Elliott  Drinkwater,  afterwards  Bethune. 


BRIDGENORTH  BEING  SAFE.  269 

truly  add,  that  amongst  the  many  elections  in  which  I  have 
taken  an  active  working  share,  none  was  ever  carried  on 
with  greater  zeal,  nor  were  greater  efforts  ever  made  to  attain 
success. 

I  had  good  reason  at  its  commencement  to  doubt  the 
success  of  our  candidate:  not  from  any  defect  on  his  part, 
but  entirely  on  political  grounds.  The  same  reasons  induced 
me  to  suppose  that  Lord  Palmerston's  seat  was  equally  in 
danger.  Of  course,  a  tone  of  perfect  confidence  was  sus- 
tained, and,  but  for  a  very  inopportune  petition  signed  by  a 
considerable  number  of  members  of  the  University,  I  believe 
that  we  might  have  managed,  by  a  compromise  with  the 
other  party,  to  have  secured  one  seat  for  our  own.  As  it 
was,  however,  both  the  Liberal  candidates  were  defeated. 

The  contingency  I  had  anticipated  did  occur.  I  was  sent 
for,  and  went  down  by  the  mail  to  assist  Sir.  Wolryche  Whit- 
more.  On  my  arrival,  I  found  that  circumstances  had  entirely 
changed,  and  not  only  my  brother-in-law,  but  also  Mr.  Foster, 
a  large  iron-master,  was  to  be  returned  for  Bridgenorih  with- 
out a  contest 

As  soon  as  I  was  informed  of  this  arrangement,  I  took  im- 
mediate measures  for  rejoining  my  committee  in  Cockspur 
Street  On  reaching  I^ridgenorth,  it  appeared  that  four  hours 
would  elapse  before  tlie  mail  to  London  could  arrive.  I 
fortunately  found  a  great  number  of  Mr.  Foster's  most  influ- 
ential supporters  assembled  at  the  hotel,  comprising  amongst 
them  many  of  the  largest  iron-masters  and  manufacturers  in 
the  county.  They  were  naturally  elated  at  tlie  success  of 
their  friend,  which  secured  to  their  class  a  certain  amount  of 
influence  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Li  the  course  of  con- 
versation, mention  was  made  of  the  utter  neglect  of  the  manu- 
facturing interests  of  the  district  by  their  county  members. 


270      A  CONTEST  FOB  SHROPSHIRE  STARTED. 

I  remarked^  that  it  depended  upon  themselves  to  remedy  this 
evily  and  inquired  whether  they  were  seriously  disposed  to 
work.  One  of  the  party,  who  had  greatly  assisted  me  when  I 
was  managing  another  contest,  and  who  had  ridden  over  four 
counties  in  search  of  votes  for  us,  appealed  to  my  own  expe- 
rience of  their  energy.  After  some  discussion,  I  suggested 
that  they  should  start  a  rival  candidate  of  their  own  for  the 
county. 

I  then  proposed  to  retire  into  another  room  and  draw  up 
an  address  to  the  freeholders,  and  also  placards,  to  be  stuck  up 
in  every  town  and  village  in  the  county.  I  desired  them,  in 
the  mean  time,  to  divide  the  county  into  districts,  of  such 
size  that  one  of  our  party  could  in  the  course  of  a  day  go  to 
every  town  and  large  village  in  his  district,  and  arrange  with 
one  or  more  tradesmen  in  our  interest  to  exhibit  the  address 
in  their  shop-windows.  I  also  desired  them  to  make  an  esti- 
mate of  the  number  of  large  and  small  placards  necessary  for 
each  town  and  village,  in  order  that  we  might  ascertain  how 
many  of  each  need  be  printed. 

I  returned  with  the  addresses  to  the  freeholders.  In  these 
the  characters  of  their  late  members  were  lightly  sketched, 
and  the  public  were  informed  that  a  committee  in  the  liberal 
interest  was  sitting  in  every  town  in  the  county,  and  that  at 
the  proper  time  the  name  of  a  fit  candidate  would  be  an- 
nounced. 

My  friends  cordially  concurring  in  these  sentiments,  unani- 
mously adopted  the  addresses,  undertook  to  publish  them 
in  the  newspapers,  to  arrange  their  distribution,  and  organize 
committees  throughout  the  county.  They  were,  of  course, 
very  anxious  to  know  who  was  to  be  their  candidate.  I  told 
them  at  once  that  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  they  could 
succeed  in  their  first  attempt,  but  that  such  a  course  would 


PATRIOTIC  FUND  AIDS  IT  WITH  £500.  271 

assuredly  secure  for  them  in  future  much  more  attention  to 
their  interests  from  their  county  members.  With  respect  to 
a  candidate,  if  they  could  not  themselves  find  one,  these  pla- 
cards and  advertisements  would  without  doubt  produce  one. 

I  may  here  mention  that  a  member  of  the  Cambridge 
committee  in  Cockspur  Street  had  taken  rooms  at  the  Grown 
and  Anchor,  and,  in  conjunction  with  many  other  Liberals, 
instituted  the  Patriotic  Fund,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
subscriptions  for  the  support  of  liberal  candidates  at  the  first 
elections  under  tlie  Beform  Bill.  A  very  large  sum  was  soon 
subscribed. 

In  the  broadsides  and  placards  issued  in  Shropshire,  I  had 
taken  care  to  allude  to  this  fund  in  large  capitals. 

I  now  got  into  the  mail  for  London,  amidst  the  hearty 
congratulations  of  my  Shropshire  friends.  During  the  few 
minutes'  rest  at  Northampton,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
a  member  of  the  Liberal  committee  and  of  informing  him  of 
our  proceedings  in  Shropshire,  and  afterwards  of  conveying 
his  report  of  the  prospects  of  the  contest  in  that  town  to  our 
firiends  in  London. 

Two  or  three  days  after  every  town,  and  almost  every 
village  in  Shropshire,  was  enlightened  by  my  placards ;  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days  more,  three  candidates  were  in 
the  field. 

On  my  return  to  London  I  communicated  with  the  Patriotic 
Fund,  who  sent  down  50021  to  support  the  party  in  Shropshire. 
After  a  short  contest  the  Liberal  party  was  of  course  beaten ; 
but  the  diversion  produced  the  intended  efiect 

One  portion  of  electioneering  tactics  is  thought  to  consist 
in  the  manufacture  of  squibs.  These  should  never  give  pain 
nor  allude  to  any  personal  defect  or  inevitable  evil.    They 


272  CONTEST  FOR  FINSBURY. 

ought  either  to  produce  a  broad  laugh  or  that  inyoluntary  smile 
which  true  wit  usually  provokes.  They  are  productive  of 
little  effect  except  the  amusement  of  the  supporters  engaged 
in  carrying  on  the  contest 

My  own  share  in  elections  has  generally  been  in  more 
serious  departments.  I  remember,  however,  a  very  harmless 
squib  which  I  believed  equally  amused  both  parties,  and 
which,  1  was  subsequently  informed,  was  concocted  in  Mr. 
Cavendish's  committee-room. 

High  mathematical  knowledge  is  by  no  means  a  very  great 

qualification  in  a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Commons,  nor 

is  the  absence  of  it  any  disparagement    In  the  contest  to 

which  I  refer,  the  late  Mr.  Goulbum  was  opposed  to  Mr. 

Cavendish.       The  following    paragraph  appeared    in    the 

*  Morning  Post :' — 

•*  The  Whigs  lay  great  stress  on  the  academical  distinction  attained  by 
'*  Mr.  Cavendish.  Mr.  Goulbum,  it  is  true,  was  not  a  candidate  for  university 
'*  honours ;  but  his  scientific  attainments  are  by  no  means  insignificant.  He 
"  has  succeeded  in  the  exact  rectification  of  a  circular  arc ;  and  he  has  like- 
'^  vrise  discovered  the  equation  of  the  lunar  caustic,  a  problem  likely  to  prove 
'*  of  great  value  in  nautical  astronomy.** 

It  appears  that  late  one  evening  a  cab  drove  up  in  hot 
haste  to  the  oflSce  of  the  'Morning  Post,*  delivered  the  copy 
as  coming  from  Mr.  Goulbum's  committee,  and  at  the  same 
time  ordered  fifty  extra  copies  of  the  'Post*  to  be  sent  next 
morning  to  their  committee-room. 


During  my  own  contest  for  the  borough  of  Finsbury  few 
incidents  worth  note  occurred.  One  day,  as  I  was  returning 
in  an  omnibus  from  the  City,  an  opportunity  presented  itself 
by  which  I  acquired  a  few  votes.  A  gentleman  at  the  extreme 
end  of  the  omnibus  being  about  to  leave  it,  asked  the  con- 


A  JUDICIOUS  LOAN— SIXPENCE.  273 

ductor  to  give  him  change  for  a  sovereign.  Those  around 
expressed  their  opinion  that  he  would  acquire  bad  silver  by 
the  exchange.  On  hearing  this  remonstrance,  I  thought  it 
a  good  opportunity  to  make  a  little  political  capital,  which 
might  perhaps  be  improved  by  a  slight  delay.  So  I  did  not 
volunteer  my  services  until  a  neighbour  of  the  capitalist 
who  possessed  the  sovereign  had  offered  him  the  loan  of  a 
sixpence.  It  was  quite  clear  that  the  borrower  would  ask 
for  the  address  of  the  lender,  and  tolerably  certain  that  it 
would  be  in  some  distant  locality.  So,  in  fact,  it  turned  out : 
Jtichmond  being  the  abode  of  the  benevolent  one.  Other 
liberal  individuals  offered  their  services,  but  they  only  pos- 
sessed half-sovereigns  and  half-crowns. 

In  the  mean  time  I  had  taken  from  my  well-loaded  breast- 
pocket one  of  my  own  charming  addresses  to  my  highly-cul- 
tivated and  independent  constituents,  and  liaving  also  a 
bright  sixpence  in  my  hand,  I  immediately  offered  the  latter 
as  a  loan,  and  the  former  as  my  address  for  repayment.  I 
remarked  at  the  same  time  that  my  committee-room  on 
Holbom  Hilly  at  which  I  was  about  to  alight,  would  be  open 
continually  for  the  next  five  weeks.  This  offer  was  imme- 
diately accepted,  and  further  extensive  demands  were  in- 
stantly made  upon  my  pocket  for  other  copies  of  my  address. 

My  immediate  neighbour,  liaving  read  its  fascinating  con- 
tents, applied  to  me  for  more  copies,  saying  that  he  highly 
agreed  with  my  sound  and  patriotic  views,  would  at  once 
promise  me  six  votes,  and  added  that  he  would  also  imme- 
diately commence  a  canvass  in  his  own  district.  On  arriving 
at  my  committee-room  1  had  already  acquired  other  sujv 
l)orters.  Indeed,  I  am  pretty  sure  I  carried  the  whole  of  my 
fellow-passengers  with  me :  for  I  left  the  omnibus  amidst  the 
hearty  cheers  of  my  newly-acquired  friends. 

T 


274  REPAID  WITH  CXjMPOUXD  INTEREST. 

About  a  year  or  two  after  this  long-forgotten  loan,  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  a  gentleman  whose  name  I  did  not 
recognize  as  being  one  of  my  too  numerous  correspondents. 
It  commenced  thus : — ''  Sir,  I  am  the  gentleman  to  whom 
"you  lent  sixpence  in  the  omnibus."  He  then  went  on 
to  state,  in  terms  too  flattering  for  me  to  repeat,  that  he 
ha^l  watched  the  Finsbury  election  with  the  greatest  interest, 
and  much  deplored  the  taste  of  the  electors  in  rejecting 
?*o,  &c.  Ac,  a  candidate.  My  friend  then  informed  me  of  an 
approacliiug  vacancy  in  the  borough  of  Stroud,  in  which  town 
lie  resided.  He  proceeded  to  give  me  an  outline  of  the  state 
of  opinion,  and  of  the  wants  of  the  electors,  and  concluded 
by  saying  he  was  certain  that  my  opinions  would  be  very 
favourably  re(.*eived.  He  also  assured  me,  if  I  decided  on 
offering  my  services  to  the  constituency,  that  he  should  have 
great  pleasure  in  giving  me  every  support  in  his  power.  In 
reply,  I  cordially  thanked  him  for  liis  generous  offer,  but 
declined  the  proposed  honour.  In  fact,  I  was  not  peculiarly 
desirous  of  wasting  my  time  for  the  benefit  of  my  country. 
The  constituency  of  Finsbury  had  already  expressed  their 
opinion  that  Mr.  Wakley  and  Mr.  Thomas  Duucombe  were 
fitter  than  myself  to  represent  them  in  Parliament,  and  in 
that  decision  I  most  cordially  concurred. 

During  some  of  the  early  contests  for  the  borough  of  Mary- 
lebono,  it  too  frequently  occurred  that  ladies  drove  round  to 
their  various  tradesmen  to  canvass  for  their  votes,  threaten- 
ing, in  case  of  refusal,  to  withdraw  their  custom.  This  un- 
feminine  conduct  occasionally  drew  upon  them  unpleasant 
though  well-deserved  rebukes. 

In  one  of  those  contests  I  took  a  considerable  interest  in 
favour  of  a  candidate  whom  I  shall  call  Mr.  A.     Meeting 


DISGRACEFUL  CANVASSING.  276 

a  very  respectable  tradesman— a  plumber  and  painter,  whom 
I  had  employed  in  decorating  my  own  house — I  asked  him 
how  lie  intended  to  vote.  He  replied  that  he  wished  to  vote 
for  3Ir.  A.,  but  that  one  of  liis  customers  had  been  to  his  shop 
and  asked  him  to  vote  for  Mr.  Z.,  threatening,  in  case  he 
declined,  never  to  employ  him  again. 

I  inquired  whether  his  customer's  house  was  larger  than 
mine,  to  which  he  replied  that  mine  was  twice  the  size  of  the 
other.  I  then  asked  whether  his  customer  was  a  younger 
man  than  myself,  to  this  he  replied,  "  He  is  a  much  older 
man." 

I  then  asked  him  what  he  would  do  if  I  adopted  the  same 
line  of  conduct,  and  insisted  on  his  voting  for  my  friend 
Sir.  A.  This  query  was  unanswerable.  Of  course  I  did  not 
attempt  to  make  him  violate  his  extorted  promise. 

Such  conduct  is  disgraceful,  and  if  of  frequent  occurrence 
would  have  a  tendency  to  introduce  the  vote  by  ballot;  a 
mode  of  voting  for  representatives  wliich,  in  my  opinion, 
notliing  short  of  the  strongest  necessity  could  justify. 

The  election  for  Finsbury  gave  occ*asion  to  the  following 
jexi  d'esprity  which,  as  a  specimen  of  the  electioneering  squibs 
of  the  day,  I  give  in  extenso : — 


T  2 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
SCENE  FROM  A  NEW  AFTER-PIECE, 

CALLED 

"  Politics  and  Poetry ;"  or,  '*  The  Decline  of  Science^ 


DRAMATIS  PERSONiE. 

PEOPLE   OF  FASHION:— 

TuBNSTiLE,  a  retired  PhiUMophery  M,P,for  Shoreditch, 

Lord  Flu  mm,  a  Tory  fioUeman  of  ancient  family , 

C0UNTE88  OF  Flumm,  his  wife, 

liADY  Selina,  their  daughter, 

Hon.  Mrs.  Fubsey,  sister  of  the  Countess. 

WHIGS  :- 
Lord  A.,  Prime  Minister, 
CLO8EWIND,  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty, 
Shift,  Secretary  at  War, 
Smooth,  Secretary  for  the  Colonies;  also  M,P,for  Shoreditch. 

TORIES:— 

Lord  George, 

Lord  Charles, 

Marquis  of  Flahborough, 

Dick  Trim,  o  former  Whipper-in, 

SHOREDITCH  ELECTORS:— 
Highway,  a  Radical. 
Griskin,  Colonel  of  the  Lumber  Troop. 
Tripes,  his  Lieutenant. 

PHILOSOPHERS  :— 
Sir  Orlando  Windfall,  Knt.  R.  Han.  Guelph.  Order,  an  Athxmomioal 

Observer. 
Sir  Simon  Smugo,  Knt.  R.  Han.  Gnelph.  Order,  Prtfessar  of  Boianimn. 
Atall,  an  Episcopizing  Mathematician ,  Dean  of  Canterbury, 
Bybways,  a  Calculating  Office^'. 


Members  of  the  Cotiservative  Cltd>„ 


Other  Lords — Conservative  and  Whig, 

ITie  Scene  is  laid  in  London ;  principally  at  tlic  West-end  of  the  Town. 
The  time  is  near  the  end  of  May,  1835. 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  277 


SCENES,  &c.,  Extracted. 


ACT    I. 

Scene  I. — Committee-room  of  the  Conservatives,  Charles^ 
street ;  Lord  Flumm  ;  Marquis  of  Flamborouoh  ;  Lord 
George;  Lord  Charles;  other  Tory  Lords^  and  Trim. 
A  tabu  covered  with  papers;  Lord  Charles  smoking  a 
cigar ;  Lord  George  half  asleep  in  an  arm-chair;  Trim 
busy  in  looking  over  a  list  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

Trim.  It  will  be  a  devilish  close  run  I  see ! — yet  I  thiiik  we 
might  manage  some  of  them  {Pause).  Does  anybody  know 
TumetUef 

Marquis.  Never  heard  of  him ! 

lA>rd  George.  {Mumbling).  The  reform  Member  for  Pud- 
dledoc'k,  isn't  he  ? — the  author  of  a  book  on  Piumaking»  and 
things  of  that  kind.    An  ironmonger  in  Newgatenstreet ! 

2Wm.  No,  no!  Member  for  Shoreditch; — with  Smooth, 
the  Colonial  Secretary ! 

Lord  Charles.  (Taking  the  cigar  from  his  mouth.)  I  think 
I've  heard  something  of  him  at  Cambridge:  he  was  New- 
tonian Professor  of  Chemistry  when  I  was  at  College. 

Trim.  Can't  we  talk  him  over? 

Lord  Charles.  No,  no !  he  is  too  sharp  for  that. 

l^m.  Will  anybody  speak  to  him  ? — ^and  if  he  won't  vote 
with  us,  keep  him  out  of  the  way. 

Marquis.  Perhaps  a  hint  at  an  appointment ! — 

Lord  Charles.  Nor  that  either ;  he  is  a  fellow  of  some 
spirit ;  and  devilish  proud. 


278  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

Lord  Flumm,  But  what  are  his  tastes  ?  —  how  does  he 
employ  himself? — who  are  his  friends  ? 

Trim.  Why  he's — a  sort  of  a — philosopher, — that  wants  to 
be  a  man  of  the  world ! 

Lord  Flumm.  Oh!— now  I  begin  to  recollect; — I  must 
have  seen  him  at  Sir  Phillip's.  Leave  him  to  me ; — ^I  think 
Lady  Flumm  and  my  daughter  can  manage  to  keep  him 
quiet  on  Thursday  night. 

Trim.  But  for  Tuesday, — my  Lord  ? 

Lord  Flumm.  Two  nights ! — Then  I  must  try  what  I  can 
do  for  you,  myself.  [Exit. 

Scene  IV. — Grosvenor-square. 

Enter  Turnstile,  musing. 

Thtmstile.  This  will  never  do !  They  make  use  of  me,  and 
laugh  at  me  in  their  sleeves; — ^push  me  round  and  go  by. 
That  break  down  was  a  devil  of  a  business!  They  didn't 
laugh  out  to  be  sure ;  but  they  coughed  and  looked  unutter- 
ably !  1  And  where  is  this  to  end  ?  What  shall  I  have  to 
show  for  it  ?  Confounded  loss  of  time ; — ^to  hear  those  fellows 
prosing,  instead  of  seeing  the  occultation  last  night  And 
that  book  of  Ls.' ;  so  much  that  /  had  begun  upon, — and 
might  have  finished!  It  never  will  do!  {Rcnising  himself 
after  a  pause.)  But  knowledge,  after  all,  is  power !  That 
at  least  is  certain,— power — to  do  what?  to  refuse  Lord 
Doodle's  invitation ;  and  to  ask  Lord  Humbug  for  a  fevour 
which  it  is  ten  to  one  he  will  refuse  I  But  the  Royal  Society 
is  defunct!  That  I  have  accomplished.  Gilbert,  and  the 
Duke !  and  the  Secretaries !  I  have  driven  them  all  before 
me  I— and,  now,  though  /  must  not  be  a  knight  of  the 
Guelphic  order,  (yet  a  riband  is  a  pretty  looking  thing !  and 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  279 

a  8tar  too  I — )  I  will  show  that  I  can  teach  them  how  to  make 
kniglitH ;  and  describe  the  decorations  that  other  men  are  to 
wear.  But  liere  comes  Lord  Flumm,  and  I  am  saved  the 
bore  of  calling  upon  him. 


Scene  V. 

Enter  Loud  FLUBi.>r. 

Lard  Flumm.  Mr.  Turnstile,  if  1  do  not  mistake !  My  dear 
Turnstile:  how  glad  I  am  to  see  you  again  I  it  was  kind  of 
Sir  Phillip  to  introduce  me.  You  know  that  you  are  near 
our  house ;  and  Lady  Flumm  will  be  so  happy 

Turnstile.  In  truth,  my  Lord,  I  was  about  to  call  upon  you. 
After  what  you  were  so  good  as  to  say  last  night,  I  took  the 
first  opiX)rtunity. 

Lard  Flumm,  Well,  that  is  kind.  But  you  did  not  speak 
last  night  How  came  that?  I  don't  find  you  in  the  paper, 
yet  the  subject  was  quite  your  own«  Tallow  and  bar-iron, 
raw  materials  and  machinery.  Ah,  my  dear  sir !  when 
science  condescends  to  come  among  us  mortals,  the  efiects  to 
be  expected  are  wonderful  indeed  I 

Turnstile.  My  Lord,  you  flatter.  But  we  have  reached 
your  door.  (Aside.)  [Confound  him ! — But  I  am  glad  he  was 
not  in  the  house.  It's  clear  he  hasn't  heard  of  the  break 
down.] 

Lard  Flumm.  While  I  have  you  to  myself,  Turnstile, 
remember  that  you  dine  with  me  on  Tuesday.    I  am  to  have 

two  friends,  Lord  S and  Sir  George  Y ,  who  wish 

very  much  to  be  acquainted  with  you.     Half-past  seven. 

Turnstile.  You  are  very  good,  my  lord.  I  dare  not  refuse 
so  kind  an  invitation.  [JSxeunt. 


280  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

Scene  VI. — Lady  Flumm's  drawing-room.     Lady  Flumm 
at  the  writing-table.     Mrs.  Fubsey  at  work  ofi  a  9ofa. 

Enter  Lord  Flumm  and  Turnstile. 

Lord  Flumm.  Lady  Flumm,  this  is  Mr.  Turnstile,  whom 
you  have  so  long  wished  to  know.  Mr.  Tmnstile, — Lady 
Flumm. 

Lady  Flumm.  The  ]Mr.  Turnstile.  My  dear  sir,  I  am  too 
happy  to  see  you.  We  had  just  been  speaking  of  your 
delightful  book.  Selinal  {Calling.)  [JBrifer  Lady  Selina.] 
This  is  Mr.  Tunistile. 

Lady  Selina.  Indeed  1 

Lady  Flumm,  Yes,  hideed  1  You  see  he  is  a  mortal  man 
after  all.  Bring  me,  my  love,  the  book  you  will  find  open 
on  the  table  in  the  boudoir.  I  wish  to  show  Mr.  Turnstile 
the  passages  I  have  marked  this  morning. 

Lady  Selina.  (Betuming  with  the  book,  and  running  over 
the  leaves.)  "  Lace  made  by  caterpillars." — "  Steam-engines 
with  fairy  fingers." — "  Robe  of  nature." — "  Sun  of  science." — 
** Faltering  worshipper." — "Altar  of  truth."  It  w,  indeed^ 
delightful!  The  taste,  the  poetical  imagination,  are  sur- 
prising. I  hope,  Mr.  Turnstile, — indeed  I  am  sure,  that  you 
love  music  ? 

Turnstile.  Not  very  particularly,  I  must  acknowledge 
{smiling) ;  a  barrel-organ  is  the  instrument  most  in  my  way. 

Lady  Flumm.  (Smiling.)  Music  and  machinery,  Mr.  Turn- 
stile. Polite  literature  and  mathematics.  You  do  know  how 
to  combine.  Others  must  judge  of  the  profounder  parts  of 
your  works ;  but  the  style,  and  the  fiEincy,  are  what  I  should 
most  admire. — You  dine  with  Lord  Flumm,  he  tells  me,  on 
Tuesday.    Now  you  must  come  to  m^  on  Thursday  night 

Turnstile.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that,  on  recollection,  I  ought  to 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  281 

have  apologized  to  Lord  Flumm.  The  Pottery  Qaestion 
stands  for  Tuesday;  and  I  should  be  there,  as  one  of  the 
Committee;  and  Thursday,  your  Ladyship  knows,  is  the 
second  reading  of  the  Place  and  Pension  BilL 

Lady  Flumm.  Oh,  we  are  Staflfordshire  people !  that  will 
excuse  you  to  the  pottery  folks;  and,  for  Thursday,  I  mil 
absolutely  take  no  excuse.  We  have  Pasta  and  Donzellil 
perhaps  a  quadrille  afterwards — (you  dance,  Mr.  Turnstile  ?) 

— and  Lady  Sophia  C and  her  cousin,  Lord  F ,  have 

said  so  much  about  those  beautiful  passages  at  the  end  of  your 
book,  that  they  will  be  quite  ditjappointed  if  I  do  not  keep 
my  promise  to  introduce  them.     {T(mching  his  arm  unth  her 


Turnstile.  Your  Ladyship  knows  how  to  conquer :  I  feel 
that  I  cannot  refuse.  [HxU. 

Scene    VIL  —  Orosvenor-square ;    before    Ix)RD    Flumm's 

house. 

Enter  Turnstile,  from  the  house. 

TumetHe.  This  is  all  very  delightful ;  but  what  will  they 
say  at  Shoreditch? — ^twice  in  one  week  absent  from  the 
House,  and  at  two  Tory  parties. 

Enter  Griskin,  hastily^  heated;  his  hat  in  his  left  hand;  a 
pocket-handkerchief  in  his  right. 

Oriskin.  Mr.  Turnstile,  I'm  glad  to  find  you ;  just  called 
on  you,  as  I  came  to  this  quarter  to  look  after  a  ciistomer — 
long  way  from  the  City — sorry  not  to  hear  from  you. 

TumstHe.  Why,  really,  Mr.  Griskin,  I  am  very  sorry; 
but  I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  Commander-in-chief.  And 
I  must  say  that  I  should  not  know  how  to  press  for  the  con* 


262  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIU. 

tract,  knowing  that  yonr  nephew*s  prices  are  thirty  per  cent., 
at  least,  above  the  market 

Chrukin.  That's  being  rather  nice,  I  should  say,  Mr.  Tnm- 
stila  My  ne[^ew  is  as  good  a  lad  as  ever  stood  in  shoe- 
leather  ;  and  has  six  good  wotes  in  Shorediteh, — and,  as  to 
myself,  Mr.  Tamstile,  I  most  say  that,  after  all  I  did  at 
your  election — and  in  such  wery  hot  weather — I  did  not 
expect  yoa'd  be  ^  wery  particular  about  a  small  matter. — 
8ir,  I  wish  you  a  good  morning. 

TumdUe.  {Bowing  and  looking  after  him.)  So  this  fellow, 
like  the  rest  of  them,  thinks  that  I  am  to  do  his  jobs,  and  to 
neglect  my  own.     And  this  is  your  reformed  Parliament. 

Scene  IX. — The  street,  near  Turnstile's  house. 
Enter  Tripes  and  Smooth,  meeting. 

Smooth.  {Taking  both  Tripes'  hands).  My  dear  Tripes, 
how  d'ye  do? — Pray,  how  is  your  good  lady? — What  a  jolly 
party  at  your  house  last  night !  and  Mrs.  Tripes,  I  Iioi^e,  is 
none  the  worse  for  it  ? 

Tripes.  Oh  dear  sir,  no !  Mrs.  Tripes  and  my  daughters 
were  so  pleased  with  your  Scotch  singing. 

Smooth.  And  your  boys,  how  are  tliey  ? — fine,  promising, 
active  fellows. — You've  heard  from  MacLeech  ? 

Tripes.  Just  received  the  note  as  I  left  home. 

Snwoth.  All  is  quite  right,  you  see,  your  cousin  has  the 
appointment  at  the  Cape.  I  knew  MacLeech  was  just  the 
man  for  the  details.  A  ship,  I  find,  is  to  sail  in  about  three 
weeks ;  and  {significantly)  I  don't  think  your  cousin  need  be 
very  scrupulous  about  freight  and  passage. 

Tripes.  You  are  too  good,  Mr.  Smooth.  I'm  sure  if  any- 
thing that  I  can  do, — my  sen»e  of  all  your  kindness 


ELECIIONEERING  SQUIB.  283 

Smooth.  I  was  thinking,  when  I  saw  those  fine  lads  of 
yours,  that  another  assistant  to  my  under  secretary's  deputy 
— but  (between  you  and  me)  Hume  thinks  that  one  is  more 
than  enough.     We  must  wait  a  little. 

Takes  Tripes'  arm.  [Exeunt. 

ScEXE  X. — Tuhnstile's  parlouTy  11 J  am.     Breakfast  on 
the  table ;  pamphlets  and  newspapers.     In  the  comers  of  the 
room,  books  and  philosophical  instruments,  dusty  and  throum 
together ;  heaps  of  Parliamentary  Reports  lying  above  them. 
TuRSNTiLE  alone,  mttsing,  and  looking  over  some  journals. 

Turnstile.  This  headache !  Impossible  to  sleep  when  one 
goes  to  bed  by  daylight  Experiments  by  Arago !  Ah  !  a 
paper  by  Cauchy,  on  my  own  subject  But  hero  is  this 
cursed  committee  in  Smithfield  to  be  attended;  and  it  is 
already  past  eleven.  {Rising). 

[Knock  ai  the  hall  door."] 

Enter  Servant. 

Servant.  Mr.  Trii)es,  sir. 

Turnstile.  Show  him  in.  He  comes,  no  doubt,  to  Siiy  that 
my  election  is  arranged.    A  good,  fat-headed,  honest  fellow. 

Enter  Tripes. 

Well  Mr.  Tripes,  I'm  glad  to  see  you.    Pray  take  a  chair. 

Tripes.  We  hoped  to  have  seen  you  at  the  meeting  yester- 
day, sir.  Capital  speech  from  Mr.  Smooth.  You  know,  of 
course,  tliat  Mr.  Highway  is  a  candidate ;  and  Mr.  MacLeech 
is  talked  of; — very  sorry,  indeed,  you  weren't  there. 

Turnstile.  A  transit  of  Venus,  Mr.  Tripes,  is  a  thing  that 
does  not  happen  every  day.     Besides,  my  friend,  Stelliui 


284  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

from  Palermo,  is  here ;  and  I  had  promised  to  go  with  him  to 
Greenwich. 

Tripes.  Almost  a  pity,  sir,  to  call  off  your  attention  from 
such  objects.  But  in  the  City  we  are  men  of  business,  you 
know, — plain,  every-day  people. 

Turnstile.  It  was  unlucky ;  but  I  could  not  help  it  The 
committee,  I  hope,  is  by  this  time  at  work  ? 

Tripes.  It  was  just  that,  I  called  about.  I  wished  to  tell 
you  myself  how  very  sorry  I  am  that  I  cannot  be  your  chair- 
man. But — my  large  family — press  of  business, — in  short, 
— you  must  excuse  me; — and,  if  I  should  be  upon  Mr. 
Smooth's  committee,  I  don't  well  see  how  I  can  attend  to 
both. 

Turnstile.  Smooth ! — but  he  and  I  go  together,  you  know, 
— at  least,  I  understood  it  so. 

Tripes.  Ym  glad  to  hear  it ;  I  feared  there  might  be  some 
mistake.  And,  if  Mr.  MacLeech  comes  forward, — being  a 
fellow-townsman  of  Mr.  Smooth,  and  a  good  deal  in  the 
Glasgow  interest ; — ^a  commercial  man  too,  Mr.  Turnstile  ; — a 
practical  man — Mr.  Turnstile ; — I  am  not  quite  sure  that  you 
can  count  upon  Mr.  Smooth's  assistance ; — and  Government, 
you  know,  is  strong. 

Turnstile.  Assistance,  Mr.  Tripes, — from  Smooth  I — why 
I  came  in  on  my  own  ground ; — on  the  Independent  interest 
— Assistance  from  Smooth! — Besides, — Smooth  knows  very 
well  that  our  second  votes  secured  him. 

Tripes.  \exy  true,  sir;  but  these  Independent  people  are 
hard  to  deal  with ;  and  Mr.  Highway,  I  assure  you,  hit  very 
hard  in  his  speech  at  the  meeting  yesterday.  He  talked  of 
amateur  politicians, — attention  to  the  business  of  the  people, 
— dinners  with  the  opposite  party.  In  short,  I  fear,  they 
will  say, — like  the  others, — that  what  they  want  is  something 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  286 

of  "  a  practical  man,"  Mr.  Turnstile. — I'm  sorry  that  I  must 
be  going. — Sir,  your  servant. 

TumntHe.  (Rising  and  ringing.)  [^Enter  servant.]  Open 
the  door  for  Mr.  Tripes.  [Hxit  Tripes.]  D d,  double- 
faced,  selfish  blockhead ! 

Scene  XI. — The  street,  as  before. 
Enter  Tripes,  from  Turnstile's  hmse. 
Tripes.  {Putting  en  his  hat.)  He  might  have  been  more 
civil,  too ; — though  he  did  count  upon  me  for  his  chairman. 
But  I'll  show  him  that  I'm  not  to  be  insulted;  and  if, 
MacLeoch  manages  the  matter  well  for  Charles,  this  Mr. 
Philosopher  Turnstile,  though  he  tliinks  himself  so  clever, 
may  go  to  the  devil.  [Exit. 


ACT    11. 

Scene  I. — Downing-street,  after  a  Cabinet  Meeting.    Lord  A. ; 

Closewind  ;  Shift  ;  Smooth  ;  and  other  Members  of  the 

Cabinet. 

Lord  A.  That  point  being  settled,  gentlemen,  the  sooner 
you  are  at  your  posts  the  better.  The  King  comes  down  to 
dissolve  on  Friday.*     But,  before  we  part,  we  had  better 

*  Parliament  is  ordinarily  dissolved  by  Proclamation,  after  having  been 
previously  prorogued.  However,  there  is  at  least  one  modem  instance  to 
justify  the  historical  consistency  of  the  text,  namely,  that  which  occurred 
on  the  10th  June,  1818,  when  the  Prince  Regent,  afterwards  George  IV., 
dissolved  the  Parliament  in  person,  llie  Dramatist  cannot  therefore  be 
properly  accused  of  drawing  heedlessly  upon  his  imagination,  though  even 
had  he  thus  far  transgressed  the  boundaries  of  historical  truth,  Horace's 
maxim  might  have  been  pleaded  in  excuse : — 

"  Pictoribus  atquo  Poetis 
Qaidlibet  andendi  semper  foit  nqna  potesUui.*' 


286  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

decide  about  this  Presidency  of  the  Board  of  Manufactures. 
The  appointment  requires  an  able  man ;  of  rather  peculiar 
attainments.  Mr.  Turnstile  has  been  mentioned  to  me ;  and 
his  claims  I  am  told,  are  strong : — long  devotion  to  science, — 
great  expense  and  loss  of  time  for  public  objects, — high  repu- 
tation, and  weight  of  opinion,  as  a  man  of  science. 

Smooth.  I  believe  that  he  has  left  seierwe;  at  least,  he 
wishes  it  to  be  so  considered.  He  is  my  colleague  at  Shore- 
ditch  ;  and,  of  course,  I  wish  to  support  him ; — but, — when 
business  is  to  be  done  ; — and  men, — and  things,  to  be  brought 
together, — I  own, — ^I  dottbt — whether  a  more  practical  man, 
— might  not 

Shift.  And  that  poor  Turnstile  certainly  is  not  He  must 
always  have  a  reason ; — nothing  but  the  quod  erat  demonstran- 
dum ;  a  romancer ;  if  you  have  anything  to  do,  his  first  object 
is  to  do  it  well.    I  am  quite  sure  he  will  not  answer  our  purpose. 

Closewind.  He  talks  too  much  about  consistency ;  and  on 
party  questions,  you  are  never  sure  of  him  :  last  week  he  did 
not  divide  with  us,  on  either  night. 

Lord  A.  Well ;  /  am  quite  indifferent.  I  did  hear  of  his 
being  at  Lord  Flumm's ;  and  after  what  had  just  passed  in 
the  Lords,  a  personal  friend  of  mine  would,  perhaps,  have 
kept  away  from  that  quarter.     Is  there  no  other  person  ? 

Smooth.  {Hesitatingly.)     Davies  Gilbert 

Shift.  {Laughing.)  Pooh!  Pooh!  Poor  Gilbert!  No, 
that  will  never  do. 

Smooth.  Or — Warburton? 

Shift.  {Sneering.)  Worse  and  worse ! — if  ever  there  was 
an  impracticable 

Closewind.  But  we  don't  know  that  Turnstile  is  sure  of  his 
seat.  Smooth,  hasn't  MacLeech  been  talked  of  for  Shore- 
ditch? 


ELECmONEERINO  SQUIB.  287 

Smooth.  He's  certain  of  succeeding  1  Tho  independent 
gentlemen  don't  quite  like  Turnstile — ^they  wish  for  Highway 
— and  the  split  will  foil  them  both.  MacLeech — now  that 
he  has  been  mentioned — I  must  acknowledge,  does  seem  to 
me  to  be  the  very  man  for  the  manufactures, — a  practical, 
persevering  man  of  business, — never  absent  from  the  House, 
— excellent  Scotch  connections, — a  cousin  of  the  Duke  of 
Y.'s . 

Lord  A.  That  is  a  good  point,  certainly.  An  appointment 
given  there  would  be  candid  and  liberal ; — it  might  con- 
ciliate  

Clotseivind.  A  very  civil,  excellent  fellow,  too.  MacLeech, 
/  should  say,  is  the  man. 

Shift.  I  quite  agree  with  you. 

Smooth.  I  confess,  I  think  he  will  fill  the  office  well.  And 
if  it  is  thought  quite  necessary  that  Hume's  motion  to  reduce 
the  salary, — though  it  is  not  large 

Chmwind.  Oh,  no!  The  salary  had  better  remain; — 
200()/.  is  not  too  much.  Besides,  the  principle  of  giving  way 
is  bad. 

Lord  A.  Well,  gentlemen,  let  it  be  so.  Smooth,  you 
will  let  MacLeech  know  that  he  has  the  offica 

Smooth.  And  at  the  present  salary  ? 

Lord  A.  Agreed.  [^Exeunt. 

Scene  IV. — The  Athenceum  Club.    Smooth  md  Atall  at 

a  table. 

Smooth.  I  saw  it  this  morning  on  the  breakfast^table  at 
Lord  A*s ;  it  is  an  admirable  article,  and  I  was  told  is  yours. 

Atall.  {Decliningly.)  These  things,  you  know,  are  always 
supposc^d  to  be  anonymous.  But  I  am  not  sorry  that  you 
liked  the  paper.    Did  his  lordship  speak  of  it  ? 


288  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

Smooth  The  book  was  open  at  the  article  ui)on  the  table. 
It  does  you  honour.  Hits  jmt  the*  happy  point, — hints  pro- 
bable intentions,  without  giving  any  pledge, — enough  to  please 
the  Liberals, — and  full  room  for  explanation,  if  any  change 
becomes  expedient.  The  true  plan,  believe  me,  for  a  ministry, 
in  times  like  these,  is  to  proceed  en  tdtonnant. — Pray,  Mr- 
Dean,  how  is  the  Bishop  of  Hereford  ? 

Atall.  I  didn't  know  that  he  was  particularly  ill.  He  has 
long  been  feeble. 

Smooth.  These  complainers  do  sometimes  hold  out  But 
they  cannot  last  for  ever. — We  meet  I  hope  to-morrow  at  the 
levee.     You  ought  to  be  there. 

Atall.  I  have  come  to  town  for  the  purpose ;  having 
secured,  I  think,  Closewind's  election  at  Cambridge. 

Smooth.  Well  done,  my  very  good  friend!  Men  of  talent 
should  always  pull  together.  Sorry  that  I  must  go ;  but  we 
meet  to-morrow.     (Shaking  hands  very  cordially.)  [Exit. 

Scene  VI. — Byeways'  lodgings.     Byeways  ahne,  writing. 
Enter  Turnstile. 

Turnstile.  My  dear  Byeways ;  I  want  your  assistance. 
Deserted  by  those  shabby  dogs  tlie  Radicals,  and  tricked,  I 
fear,  by  the  Whigs,  I  find  I  have  no  chance  of  a  decent  show 
of  numbers  at  the  next  election,  if  my  scientific  friends  do  * 
not  support  me  with  spirit  Even  so,  it  can  be  only  an 
honourable  retreat  I  count  upon  you, — you  understand  the 
world; — and  as  soon  as  we  can  muster  a  committee,  you 
must  be  my  chairman. 

Byeways.  My  good  friend,  don't  be  in  a  hurry ;  sit  down 
and  tell  me  all  about  it.  I  know  you  don't  care  much  about 
your  seat, — and  after  all, — it  is, — ^to  you,  a  waste  of  time ; — 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  889 

but,  with  the  Independents  at  your  back,  you  are  secure.  As 
to  me,  my  dear  fellow,  you  know  that  I  am 

Turnstile.  But  man !  the  Independents,  as  you  call  them, 
have  taken  up  Highway ;  he  blusters,  and  goes  any  length. 

Byeways.  But  Smooth,  you  know,  is  strong  in  Shoreditch, — 
Government  interest, — ^you  brought  him  in  last  time;  and 
you  and  he,  together 

Turnstile.  I  know  it ;  but  he  says  he  is  not  strong  enough 
to  run  any  risk.  If  you  will  be  my  chairman,  with  a  good 
committee,  we  may  at  least  die  game. 

Byeways.  My  dear  Turnstile,  you  know  how  glad  I  always 
am  to  serve  you — and  you  know  what  /  think  ; — ^but  in  my 
situation,  my  dear  fellow,  it  is  quite  impossible  that  I  can 
oppose  the  ministers.  MacLeech  too,  they  say,  is  a  candidate ; 
and  his  brother-in-law's  uncle  was  very  civil,  last  year,  in 
Scotland,  to  my  wife's  cousin. — But  I  have  a  plan  for  you. 
There  is  Atall,  just  come  to  town ;  make  him  your  chief,  and 
bring  the  Cambridge  men  together.  The  clergy  were  always 
strong  in  Shoreditch.  Atall  can  speak  to  them. — I  am 
obliged  to  go  to  the  War  Office. — And  you  had  better  lose  no 
time  in  seeing  Atall.     Sorry  to  bid  you  good-bye.  [ExU. 

Turnstile.  Well,  this  is  strange  I  yet  I  thought  I  might 
have  counted  upon  Byeways.  [Exit. 

Scene  YUL — Lady  Flumm's  Dramng-room.    Ladt 
Flumm  ;  Ladt  Seuna  ;  Hon.  Mbs.  Fubsey. 

Mrs.  Fuhsey.  But,  my  dear  sister ;  how  can  you  so  be- 
flatter  tliat  poor  man  ?  You  don't  know  all  the  mischief  you 
may  do  to  him. 

Lady  Flumm.  "  Poor  man !"  I  cannot  pity  him.  His 
maxim  is,  that  knowledge  is  power ;  and  he  thinks  his  know- 

u 


290  ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB. 

ledge  is  all  that  can  be  known.  He  has  to  learn  that  cur 
knowledge,  also,  is  power ;  and  that  we  know  how  to  use  it 
too. 

Enter  Lord  Flumm. 

Lord  Flumm,  There,  Lady  Selina,  so  much  for  your 
philosophic  friend.  Poor  Turnstile!  What  a  business  he 
has  made  of  it  Here  is  the  "  Times,"  with  the  report  of  the 
Shoreditch  election  meeting.  Turnstile  has  no  chance.  The 
Scotchmen  coalesce ;  Highway  none  of  us  can  think  of;  €Uid 
Smooth  and  MacLeech  walk  over  the  ground  in  triumph : 
and  then,  the  Presidency  of  Manufactures,  the  very  appoint- 
ment for  which  poor  Turnstile  was  fitted  (and,  to  do  the 
poor  devil  justice,  he  could  have  filled  it  well),  is  given  to 
MacLeech,  a  Scotch  hanger  on,  or  distant  cousin  of  Smooth's, 
and  with  the  old  salary,  in  spite  of  all  that  Hume  could  say 
against  it. — Bravo!  Reform,  and  the  Whigs  for  ever! — We 
Tories  could  not  have  done  the  business  in  a  better  style. 

Enter  a  Footman, 

Footman.  Mr.  Turnstile,  my  Lady,  sends  up  his  card. 

Lady  Flumm,  Oh,  not  at  home !  And  Sleek,  put  a  memo- 
randum in  the  visiting-book,  that  we  are  **out  of  town," 
whenever  Mr.  Turnstile  calls. 

Scene    XIL— Turnstile's    Parlour.    Night.     Turnstile 

alone. 

Tumatile.  Then  all  is  up.  What  a  fool  have  I  been  to 
embark  upon  this  sea  of  trouble !  Two  years  of  trifling  and 
lost  time ;  while  others  have  been  making  discoveries  and 
adding  to  their  reputation.  Those  rascal  Whigs,  my  blood 
boils  to  think  of  them.     I  can  forgive  the  Shoreditch  people 


ELECTIONEERING  SQUIB.  291 

— the  greasy,  vulgar,  money-getting  beasts ; — ^but  mj  friends, 

the  men  of  principle {Getting  up  and  walking  aboui.) 

Is  it  still  too  late  to  return?  (Looking  round  upon  his 
books  and  instruments.)  There  you  are,  my  old  friends,  whom 
I  hane  treated  rather  ungratefully.  What  a  scene  at  that 
cursed  meeting  I  Highway's  bullying ;  and  the  baseness  of 
Smooth ;  tlie  sleek,  sly,  steering  of  that  knave  MacLeech ; 
and  yet  they  must  succeed.  There's  no  help  for  it  I  am 
fairly  beaten — ^thrown  overboard,  with  not  a  leg  to  stand 
upon ;  and  all  I  have  to  do  is  to  go  to  bed  now,  to  sleep  off 
this  fever ;  and  to-morrow,  take  leave  of  politics,  and  try  to 
be  myself  once  more. 


END  OF  THE  EXTRACTS. 


Note. — The  reader  will  doubtlesslj  have  already  diaoovered  that  "  Bje- 
ways/*  with  the  other  dramatis  per$onceo{  this  squib,  are  living  characters 
not  unknown  in  fashionable  and  political  circles.  In  a  future  edition,  if  it 
can  be  done  without  offence,  I  may  perhaps  be  induced  to  present  them  to 
the  public  without  their  masks  and  buskins. 


U  2 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

EXPERIENCE  AT  COURTS. 

Pension  to  Dr.  Dalton — Inbabitants  of  Manchester  subscribe  for  a  Statue 
by  Chantrey — Tlie  Author  proposed  that  he  should  appear  at  a  Levee — 
Various  diflBculties  suggested  and  removed — The  Chancellor  approves 
and  offers  to  present  him — Mentions  it  to  King  William  IV. — Difficaltiet 
occur — Dalton  as  a  Quaker  could  not  wear  a  Sword — Answer,  be  may 
go  in  his  Robes  as  Doctor  of  Laws  of  Oxford— As  a  Quaker  he  could  not 
wear  Scarlet  Robes— Answer,  Dalton  is  afflicted  with  Colour-blindnest 
— Crimson  to  him  is  dirt-colour — Dr.  Dalton  breakfasts  with  the  Author 
— First  Rehearsal — Second  Rehearsal  at  Mr.  Wood's— At  the  Levee — The 
Church  in  danger — Courtiers  jealous  of  the  Quaker — Conversation  at 
Court  sometimes  interesting,  occasionally  profitable. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  by  me  to  Dr.  Hemy,  the 
biographer  of  Dalton,  in  reply  to  inquiries  respecting  the  part 
I  had  taken  in  procuring  a  pension  for  that  distinguished 
philosopher.  It  was  printed  in  the  "  Life  of  Dalton,**  and  is 
now  reprinted  from  its  illustration  of  the  subject  of  this 
chapter : — 

"  My  dear  Sir, — I  have  now  examined  my  papers,  as  far 
as  I  can,  to  find  any  traces  of  Dalton  amongst  thenu  I  find 
only  two  letters,  of  which  I  send  you  copies. 

"  I  well  remember  taking  a  great  interest  in  Dalton*8 
pension,  as  you  will  see  by  several  passages  in  *  The  Decline 
of  Science,'  pp.  20  and  22,  and  note ;  but  I  have  no  re- 
collection of  any  of  the  circumstances,  or  tlirough  what 
obannel  it  was  applied  for. 


STATUE  OP  DALTON.  298 

''  I  find  several  letters  of  that  date  from  Mr.  Wood,"*^  and 
it  api>ears  from  them  that  I  went  with  him  to  Poulett  Thom- 
son ;  t  but  I  only  gather  tills  fact  from  those  letters.  I  send 
them  in  the  enclosure,  as  they  may  be  of  use.  You  can 
return  them  at  your  own  convenience. 

'^  When  the  inhabitants  of  Manchester  had  subscribed 
2,000/.  for  a  statue  of  Dalton,  he  came  up  to  London,  and 
was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Wood.  He  sat  to  Chantrey  for  the 
statue.  I  consequentiy  saw  much  of  my  friend.  It  occurred 
to  me  that,  as  his  townsmen  were  having  a  statue  of  liim — as 
the  University  of  Oxford  had  given  him  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws— and  as  the  Grovemment  had  given  him  a 
pension — if  it  were  not  incompatible  with  his  feelingSyit  would 
be  a  fit  thing  that  he  should  be  presented  at  a  levee.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  if  William  the  Fourth  were  informed  of 
it,  it  would  afibrd  him  an  opportunity  of  saying  a  few  words 
to  the  venerable  philosopher,  which  would  be  gratifjring  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Manchester,  the  University  of  Oxford,  and 
the  world  of  science. 

"  Accordingly  I  wrote  a  note  to  Mr.  Wood,  suggesting  the 
idea,  and  proposing  that  he  should  ascertain  from  Doctor 
Dalton  whether  it  would  be  unpleasant  to  him  to  go  through 
the  usual  forms. 

*'  Dalton  not  objecting,  my  note  was  sent  on  by  Mr.  Wood 
to  Lord  Brougham,  who  at  that  time  was  Lord  Chancellor. 
He  approved  higlily  of  the  plan,  and  offered  to  present 
Doctor  Dalton.  He  also  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  the 
King. 

'^  I  had  had  some  conversation  with  Mr.  Wood  upon  the 
subject,  when  several  difficulties  presented  themselves  to  him. 
Doctor  Dalton,  as  a  Quaker,  could  not  appear  in  a  court- 

*  Member  for  South  Ijancasliirc.  f  Afterwards  Lord  Sydniihani. 


T  » 


u 


294  FIRST  REHEARSAL  OF  A  LEVEE. 

dress,  because  he  must  wear  a  sword.  To  tliis  I  replied,  tliat 
being  aware  of  the  difficulty,  I  had  proposed  to  let  him  wear 
the  robes  of  a  Doctor  of  Laws  of  Oxford. 

"  Mr.  Wood  remarked,  that  those  robes  being  scarlet,  they 
were  not  of  a  colour  admissible  by  Quakers. 

"  To  tliis  I  replied,  that  Doctor  Dalton  had  a  kind  of 
colour-blindness,  and  that  all  red  colours  appeared  to  him  to 
be  the  colour  of  dirt  Besides,  I  had  found  that  our  friend 
entertained  very  reasonable  views  of  such  mere  matters  of 
form.  The  velvet  cap  of  the  Doctor  again  was  not  an 
obstacle,  as  he  was  informed  that  it  was  usually  held  in  the 
hand,  and  was  rather  a  mark  of  office  than  a  covering  for 
the  head 

"  These  difficulties  being  surmounted.  Doctor  Dalton  came 
one  morning  to  breakfast  with  me.  We  were  ahme;  and 
after  breakfast  he  went  up  with  me  into  the  drawing-room,  in 
order  to  see  the  Difference  Engine.  After  we  had  made 
several  series  of  calculations,  he  recollected  that  he-  had  in  his 
pocket  a  note  to  me  from  Mr.  Wood.  On  hastfly  looking 
it  over,  I  found  that  it  was  to  announce  to  me  that  our  friend 
acquiesced  in  the  plan. 

"  I  now  mentioned  the  forms  usual  at  a  levee,  and  placing 
several  chairs  in  order  to  represent  the  various  officers  in  the 
Presence-chamber,  I  put  Doctor  Dalton  in  the  middle  of  the 
circle  to  represent  the  King.  I  then  told  my  friend  that  I 
should  represent  a  greater  man  than  the  King;  that  I  in- 
tended to  personate  Doctor  Dalton,  and  would  re-enter  at  the 
further  door,  go  round  the  circle,  make  my  obeisance  to  the 
King,  and  thus  show  him  the  kind  of  ceremony  at  wliich  he 
was  to  assist. 

"  On  passing  the  third  chair  from  the  King's,  I  put  my 
card  on  the  chair,  at  the  same  time  informing  Doctor  Dalton 


FULL  DKESS  K£UEAK8AL  OF  LEVEK.  296 

that  tliu  was  the  post  of  a  Lord  in  Waituig,  who  takes  the 
cards,  and  gives  them  to  the  next  officer,  who  announces  them 
to  the  King. 

''  On  passing  the  philosopher  I  kissed  his  hand,  and  then 
passing  round  the  rest  of  the  circle  of  chairs,  I  thus  gave  him 
his  first  lesson  as  a  courtier. 

''  It  was  arranged  that  I  should  take  Doctor  Dalton  with 
me  to  the  levee,  and  put  on  his  card,  '  Doctor  Dalton,  pre- 
sented by  the  Lord  Chancellor.' 

"  When  the  morning  arrived  I  went  to  Mr.  Wood's  resi- 
dence, and  found  Doctor  Dalton  quite  ready  for  the  expedi- 
tion. In  order  to  render  the  chief  actor  perfect  in  his  part, 
we  again  had  a  rehearsal ;  Mrs.  Wood  personating  the  King; 
and  the  rest  of  the  family,  with  the  assistance  of  sundry  chairs 
and  stools,  representing  the  great  Officers  of  State.  I  then 
entered  the  room,  preceding  my  excellent  friend,  who  fol- 
lowed his  instructions  as  perfectly  as  if  he  had  been  repeating 
an  experiment. 

''  Being  now  quite  satisfied  with  the  performance,  we 
drove  off  to  St.  James's.  The  robes  of  a  Doctor  of  Laws  are 
rarely  made  use  of,  except  at  a  University  Address :  con- 
sequently Dr.  Dalton's  costume  attracted  much  attention,  and 
compelled  me  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  many  of  my  friends, 
by  explaining  who  he  was.  The  prevailing  opinion  had  been 
that  he  was  the  Mayor  of  some  corporate  town  come  up  to  get 
knighted.  I  informed  my  inquirers,  that  he  was  a  much 
more  eminent  {person  than  any  Mayor  of  any  city,  and  having 
won  for  himself  a  name  which  would  survive  when  orders  of 
knighthood  should  be  forgotten,  he  had  no  ambition  to  be 
knighted. 

"  At  a  short  distance  from  the  Presence-chamber,  I  ob- 
served close  before  me  several  dignitaries  of  the  church,  in 


tm  THE  CFIURCH  IN  DANGER, 

the  full  radiance  of  their  vast  lawn  sleeves.  The  Bishop 
of  Gloucester,*  who  was  nearest,  accidentally  turning  his 
head,  I  recognized  a  face  long  familiar  to  me  finm  ita 
cordiality  and  kindness.  A  few  words  were  interchanged 
between  us,  and  also  by  myself  witli  tlie  rest  of  the  party, 
the  remotest  of  whom,  if  I  remember  rightly,  was  the  Arehr 
bishop  of  Dublin,  Tho  dress  of  my  friend  eeemed  to  strike 
the  Bishop's  attention ;  but  the  quiet  costume  of  the  Quaker 
beneath  hia  scarlet  robe  was  entirely  unnoticed*  I  therefore 
confided  to  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  the  fact  that  I  had  a 
Quaker  by  my  side,  at  the  same  time  assuring  him  that  my 
peaceful  and  philosophic  friend  was  very  far  from  meditating 
any  injury  to  the  Church,  The  effect  was  electric  upon  the 
whole  party;  episcopal  eyes  had  never  yet  beheld  such  a 
spectacle  in  such  society,  and  I  fear,  notwithstanding  my  as- 
mirance,  some  portion  of  the  establishment  thought  the  Church 
really  in  danger. 

*'  We  now  entered  the  Presence-chamber,  and  baring 
passed  the  King,  I  retired  very  slowly,  in  order  that  I  might 
obserre  events.  Doctor  Dal  ton  having  kissed  hands,  the 
King  asked  him  several  questions,  all  wliicli  the  philosopher 
duly  answered,  and  then  moved  on  in  proper  order  to  join 
me.  This  reception,  however,  had  not  passed  witt  sufficient 
rapidity  to  escape  jealousy,  for  I  heard  one  officer  say  to 
another,  '  Who  the  d — 1  is  that  fellow  whom  the  King  keeps 
talking  to  so  long  ?* 

"  Conversations  at  Courts  are  not  always  thought  to  be 
the  most  interesting  things  in  the  world  ;  altlioughj  doubtless, 
they  must  be  so  to  the  parties  engaged  in  them.  Li  the 
midst  of  crowded  levees  and  drawing-ixximfl,  one  is  often 
compelled  to  bet^me  the  confidant  of  strangers  around  ub. 

*  l>r.  Monk. 


IXTERE8TIXG  CONFIDEN'CES  AT  A  LEVEE.  297 

The  amusement  derived  from  this  somt^  predominates  over 
the  instruction*  I  have  heard  much  anxious  inquiry  as  to 
certain  pieces  of  clerical  preferment — who  is  to  have  certain 
military  or  colonial  commands,  and  what  promotions  will 
take  place  from  the  consequent  vacancies  ? — ^many  political 
queries  have  been  proposed,  and  how  '  the  party '  would  act 
in  certain  contingent  cases?  I  once  heard  a  gentleman 
receive  at  a  levee  the  first  announcement  of  a  legacy ;  on 
another  occasion,  on  my  return  from  the  Continent,  I  was 
myself  informed  at  a  levee  of  a  similarly  gratifying,  and  to 
me  entirely  unexpected,  event 

''  Doctor  Dalton  haying  now  passed  through  the  formal 
part  of  a  levee,  had  a  better  opportunity  of  viewing  the 
details.  He  inquired  the  names  of  several  of  the  portraits, 
and  I  took  the  opportum'ty  of  pointing  out  to  him  many  of 
the  li>'ing  celebrities. 

"  We  then  returned  to  Mr.  Wood's  residence,  and  the 
whole  party  were  highly  gratified  at  the  success  of  the  un- 
dertaking. 

"  I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  very  truly  yours, 


"  C.  Babbaqe. 


Dorset  Street,  Mcmcheiter  Square, 
"  February  7,  1854." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

EXPERIENCE   AT  COURTS. 

The  Author  invited  to  a  Meeting  at  Turin  of  the  Philosophers  of  Italy, 
1840 — The  King,  Charies  Albert — Reflections  on  Shyness— Question  of 
Dress — Electric  Telegraph — Theory  of  Storms — Remark  of  an  Italian 
Friend  in  the  evening  at  the  Opera — Various  Instruments  taken  to  the 
Palace,  and  shown  to  the  young  Princes — The  Queen  being  absent — 
The  reason  v»hy — The  yoxmg  Princes  did  great  credit  to  their  Governor — 
The  General  highly  gratified — The  Philosopher  proposes  another  difficult 
question — It  is  referred  to  the  King  himself — An  audience  is  granted  to 
ask  the  King's  permission  to  present  the  woven  Silk  Engraving  of 
Jacquard  to  Her  Majesty — Singular  but  CJomic  Scene — The  final  Capture 
of  the  Butterflies — Visit  to  Raconigi — ^The  Vintage. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  Court  of  Turin  had  the 
reputation  of  being  the  most  formal  and  punctilious  of  any 
in  Europe.  It  was  dull  to  the  diplomatic  oflScials,  who  were 
doomed  like  planets  to  circulate  around  it,  though  not  with- 
out interest  to  the  inquiring  traveller,  whose  orbit,  like  that 
of  a  comet,  passed  through  its  atmosphere  only  at  distant 
intervals. 

In  1840  I  received  a  gratifying  invitation  to  meet  the  ^ite 
of  the  science  of  Italy  at  Turin.  On  my  arrival  I  imme- 
diately took  measures  to  pay  my  respects  in  the  usual  man- 
ner to  the  sovereign  of  the  country.  Having  inquired  of  a 
nobleman  *  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  King,  when  there 

^  Conte  D.  Alessandro  Saluzzo  di  Monesiglio,  Grande  di  Corona,  Presid. 
della  licxiare  dell*  interuo  ncl  consiglio  di  stato,  &c. 


THE  CX)URT  OF  TURIN  IN  1840.  299 

would  occur  a  leyee,  in  order  that  I  might  have  the  honour 
of  being  presented,  I  was  informed  that  his  Majesty  was 
aware  of  my  arrival^  and  would  receive  me  at  a  private 
audience.  Two  days  after  I  had  a  formal  visit  from  Count 
Alessandro  Saluzzo  to  inform  me  that  the  King  would  receive 
me  the  next  day  at  two  o'clock. 

I  then  made  inquiries  as  to  the  usual  dress,  and  found  that 
a  court  dress  was  not  considered  essential  on  such  occasions, 
especially  for  a  foreigner,  and  that  I  might  with  perfect  pro- 
priety go  in  plain  clothes.  I  was  glad  to  avail  myself  of  this 
permission  ;  but  in  order  to  prevent  any  misapprehension,  I 
drove  up  to  the  palace  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the 
appointed  time,  and  called  upon  Greneral  Cesare  de  Salluce,* 
the  governor  of  the  two  young  princes,  the  present  King  of 
Italy  and  the  late  Duke  of  Genoa,  then  respectively  about 
eighteen  and  seventeen  years  of  age. 

The  General  kindly  offered  to  accompany  me  to  the  ante- 
chamber. In  the  course  of  our  conversation  I  took  an  oppor- 
tunity of  mentioning  that,  having  been  informed  I  might 
appear  in  plain  clothes,  I  had  thought  it  most  respectful  to 
his  sovereign  to  wear  the  same  dress  I  had  worn  a  few  days 
before  I  left  England,  when  I  had  the  honour  of  being  invited 
to  the  first  party  t  given  by  a  subject  to  my  own  sovereign. 

I  had  aht^ady  been  informed  that  the  King,  Charles  Albert^ 
took  a  great  interest  in  the  success  of  the  meeting ;  that  he 
was  a  very  good  man,  but  remarkably  shy ;  and  that  he  pro- 
bably would  not  detain  me  more  than  perhaps  five  minutes. 

I  had  myself  experienced  the  misery  of  that  affliction,  and 

^  Saluzzo  di  Monesiglio,  Car.  Geaare,  Luogoten,  Gren.,  Gran  Mastro 
d*Artiglicria  ct  Govematore  de  Real!  Principi,  &c. ;  the  younger  brother 
of  the  Count  Alexander. 

t  The  d^jedn^  at  Wimbledon  Park,  the  residence  of  the  Ute  Duke  of 
Somerset. 


300  RECEPTION  OF  THE  PHILOSOPHER. 

felt  how  much  more  painful  it  must  inevitably  become  when 
it  fell  to  the  lot  of  a  person  placed  in  the  most  exalted 
rank. 

On  entering  the  ante-room  I  found  a  number  of  the  most 
distinguished  people  of  the  country  waiting  for  audience, 
the  king  at  that  time  being  occupied,  as  I  was  informed,  with 
one  of  his  ministers.  On  his  exit  the  master  of  the  cere- 
monies announced  that  his  Majesty  would  receive  me. 

I  then  entered  the  i-oyal  reception-room,  and  was  presented 
to  the  King.  He  was  a  remarkably  tall  person,  dressed 
in  military  costume,  having  a  very  peculiar  expression  of 
countenance,  which  I  was  at  a  loss  how  immediately  to  in- 
terpret. The  King  invited  me  to  sit  down,  and  I  followed  hia 
Majesty  to  a  large  bay-window,  where  we  immediately  sat 
down  on  two  stools  opposite  to  each  other. 

The  King  expressed  his  satisfaction  that  I  had  come  from 
so  considerable  a  distance  to  assist  at  the  councils  of  the 
men  of  science  then  assembling  in  his  own  capital.  Of  course 
I  replied  by  remarking  that  the  advancement  of  the  sciencea 
contributed  to  the  material  as  well  as  to  the  intellectual  pro- 
gress of  every  nation,  and  that  when  a  sovereign,  intimately 
convinced  of  this  truth,  took  measures  for  the  extension  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge,  it  was  the  duty  of  all  those  engaged  in 
its  cultivation  respectfully  to  assist  as  far  as  their  individual 
circumstances  permitted. 

After  a  short  pause,  the  King  put  some  question  which  I 
do  not  remember,  except  that  it  was  one  of  the  conventional 
topics  of  society:  perhaps  it  might  have  related  to  my 
journey.  I  now  felt  that  unless  I  could  raise  some  question 
of  curiosity  in  his  Majesty's  mind,  to  overcome  his  natnra] 
reserve,  the  interview  would  soon  terminate  precisely  in  the 
manner  predicted.     I  therefore,  in  n^plying  to  this  question. 


THEORY  OF  STORMS— ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.         301 

contrived  to  introduce  a  remarkable  tact  relative  to  the 
electric  telegraph.  I  soon  perceived  that  it  had  taken  hold 
of  the  King's  imagination,  and  the  next  question  confirmed 
my  view.  "  For  what  purposes,**  said  the  King,  "  will  the 
electric  telegraph  become  useful  ?" 

I  must  here  request  the  reader  to  go  back  in  his  memory 
to  the  state  of  our  knowledge  in  1840,  when  electricity  and 
other  subjects,  now  of  every-day  application,  were  just  com- 
mencing their  then  eccentric  but  now  regulated  course. 

The  King  put  the  very  question  I  had  wished.  Carefully 
observing  his  countenance,  I  felt  that  I  was  advancing  in  a 
tract  in  which  he  was  interested.  At  each  pause  the  proper 
question  was  suggested,  and  at  last  I  pointed  out  the  proba- 
bility that,  by  means  of  the  electric  telegraphs,  his  Majesty's 
fleet  might  receive  warning  of  coming  storms.  This  led  to 
the  new  theory  of  storms,  about  which  the  king  was  very 
curious.  By  degrees  I  endeavoured  to  make  it  clear.  I  cited, 
as  an  illustration,  a  storm  which  had  occurred  but  a  short 
time  before  I  left  England.  The  damage  done  by  it  at 
Liverpool  was  very  great,  and  at  Glasgow  immense.  On  one 
large  property  in  the  west  coast  of  Scotland  thirty  thousand 
timber-trees  had  been  thrown  down. 

I  then  explained  that  by  subsequent  inquiries  it  had  been 
found  that  this  storm  arose  from  the  overlapping  of  two  circular 
whirlwinds,  one  of  them  coming  up  from  the  Atlantic  bodily 
at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour,  the  other  passing  at  the 
rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour,  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  to 
Glasgow,  where  they  coalesced,  and  destroyed  property  to  the 
value  of  above  half  a  million  sterling.  I  added  that  if  there 
liad  been  electric  communication  between  Genoa  and  a  few 
other  places  the  people  of  Glasgow  might  have  had  informa- 
tion of  one  of  those  storms  twenty-four  hours  previously  to  its 


302  THE  PHILOSOPHER  TROUBLED  WITH  A  CONSCIENCE. 

arriyal,  and  could  then  have  taken  effective  measures  for  the 
security  of  much  of  their  shipping. 

During  this  conversation  I  had  felt  rather  uneasy  at  occupy- 
ing the  king's  time  so  long  when  several  of  his  own  ministers 
were  waiting  in  his  ante-room  for  an  audience,  perhaps  upon 
important  business.  Urged  by  this  truly  conscientious  motiye^ 
I  committed  a  ffaticherte  of  the  deepest  water — I  half  rose 
from  my  stool  to  take  leave  of  his  Majesty.  The  King,  as 
well  he  might,  lifted  up  both  his  hands  and  then  expressed 
the  greatest  interest  in  the  continuance  of  the  subject. 

After  a  conversation  of  about  five-and-twenty  minutes  the 
King  rose,  and,  walking  with  me  to  the  door,  I  made  my  bow. 
The  King  then  held  out  his  hand. 

Here  might  have  arisen  a  puzzling  question,  what  I  ought 
to  have  done ;  but  previously  to  the  interview  I  had  taken 
the  precaution  of  inquiring  of  one  of  my  Sardinian  friends 
what  were  the  usual  forms,  and  whether  it  was  customary  to 
kiss  hands  on  being  presented  to  the  sovereign.  The  answer 
was  in  the  negative.  The  ceremony  of  kissing  hands,  he 
informed  me,  never  took  place  except  when  a  native  subject 
was  appointed  to  some  very  high  oflSce. 

I  therefore  immediately  perceived  that  the  King  had  done 
me  the  honour  of  adopting  the  salutation  of  my  own  country. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  shook  hands  as  an  Englishman 
does,  and  then,  bowing  profoundly,  retired. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  of  that  day,  being  at  the 
opera,  I  visited  the  box  of  one  of  my  Italian  acquaintances. 
A  great  friend  of  mine,  also  an  Italian,  who  had  bec^n  dining 
at  the  palace,  came  in  soon  after.  He  said  to  me,  "  What  an 
"  extraordinary  person  you  are !  You  have  perfectly  fa^scinated 
"  our  King,  who  has  done  nothing  but  talk  of  you  and  the 
"  things  you  have  told  him  during  the  whole  of  dinnt^r-time.** 


EXHroiTS  VARIOUS  INSTRUMENTS.  803 

I  admit  I  felt  great  satisfaction  at  this  announcement  of 
the  complete  success  of  my  daring  experiment  It  assured 
me  that  my  unusual  deviation  from  the  routine  of  a  Court  was 
fully  justified  by  the  interest  the  matter  communicated  had 
awakened  in  the  King's  mind. 

I  had  brought  with  me  to  Turin  several  models  and  various 
instruments  connected  with  science  and  mechanical  art,  which 
of  course  had  been  examined  by  many  of  my  scientific  and 
personal  friends.  Unfortunately,  on  two  occasions,  when 
General  de  Salluce,  who  was  much  my  senior  in  years,  called 
upon  me,  I  happened  to  be  absent  from  the  house.  Knowing 
how  fully  his  time  was  occupied  by  his  illustrious  pupils,  I 
much  regretted  that  I  had  not  been  at  home  when  he  called, 
and  during  one  of  my  visits  at  the  palace  I  offered  to  bring 
with  me,  on  another  occasion,  some  of  the  things  I  thought 
might  be  most  interesting. 

The  General  could  not  think  of  giving  me  that  trouble,  and 
at  first  very  courteously  declined  the  proposal  But  after  a 
moment  or  two  he  said,  "  On  second  thoughts,  I  will  accept 
your  kind  offer,  because  I  think  it  may  be  useful  to  my 
yoimg  pupils.** 

On  the  morning  proposed  I  drove  up  to  the  palace  with 
some  boxes  containing  the  various  apparatus,  and  was  imme- 
diately shown  into  a  large  room  nearly  at  the  top  of  the 
palace.  After  opening  the  boxes  and  giving  the  General  a 
glance  at  the  various  articles,  I  remarked  that  several  of 
them  were  interesting  to  ladies,  and  that  possibly  the  Queen, 
if  made  acquainted  with  it,  might  like  to  accompany  her 
sons ;  in  which  case  it  would,  perhaps,  be  more  convenient  for 
her  Majesty  if  they  were  placed  in  a  lower  room  of  the 
palace. 

The  idea  appeared  a  happy  one ;  the  General  was  much 


304  THE  QUEEN  UNABLE  TO  COME. 

pleased  at  it,  and  said  he  would  go  immediately  and  take  her 
Majesty's  pleasure  on  the  subject  After  considerable  delay 
General  de  Salluce  returned,  evidently  much  disappointed, 
and  said  he  was  commanded  by  the  Queen  to  thank  me  for 
the  attention,  and  to  express  her  Majesty's  regret  that  she 
was  prevented  by  an  engagement  from  accompanying  the 
young  Princes. 

When  everything  was  arranged,  and  the  hour  appointed 
had  arrived,  the  yoimg  Princes,  accompanied  by,  I  presume, 
various  members  of  the  royal  household,  and  their  Governor, 
arrived.  Altogether  there  might  have  been  about  a  dozen  or 
fourteen  persons  of  both  sexes  present. 

I  pointed  out  the  use  and  structure  of  most  of  the  instm- 
ments.  Some  objects  belonged  to  mechanical  art,  such  as 
patent  locks  and  tools ;  a  few  were  related  to  the  Fine  Arts. 

The  whole  party  seemed  much  pleased ;  the  young  Princes 
particidarly  took  a  great  interest  in  them,  whereat  the  General 
was  highly  gratified.  Before  his  young  pupils  retired,  I  took 
the  General  aside  and  inquired  whether  it  was  consistent  with 
their  customs  that  I  should  present  to  each  of  his  two  pupils 
one  of  the  various  (but  in  a  pecuniary  sense  trifling)  articles 
which  they  had  examined.  I  was  glad  to  find  that  I  might 
be  permitted  to  leave  beliind  me  two  little  souvenirs  of  a 
most  agreeable  day. 

The  whole  party,  with  the  exception  of  General  de  Salluce, 
had  now  retired.  We  walked  up  and  down  the  room  together 
for  some  time,  conversing  upon  the  success  of  the  meeting. 
My  excellent  friend  was  justly  delighted  ^-ith  the  intelligent 
inquiries  made  by  his  pupils. 

I  thought  I  now  perceived  a  favourable  opportunity  of 
ascertaining  the  cause  of  the  Queen's  absence. 

After  some  kind  expreiwion  towards  mo,  I  suddenly  stopped. 


IHE  REASON  EXPLAINED.  805 

and,  looking  inquiringly  into  lus  countenance^  said,  ^^Now» 
Grencraly  jugt  before  this  Yory  agreeable  party  met  you  went 
to  inyite  the  Queen,  and  you  returned  and  then  told  me  the 
official    Now  pray  do  tell  me  the  real," 

The  surprise  of  the  General  was  certainly  great,  but,  with  a 
most  agreeable  smile,  he  immediately  consented. 

It  appears  that  its  history  was  thus.  The  General  went  to 
the  Queen's  apartments  and  asked,  through  her  lord-in-wait~ 
ing,  to  be  permitted  to  see  her  Majesty.  This  request  was 
immediately  granted.  The  General  then  informed  the  Queen 
that  amongst  the  things  her  sons  were  going  to  see  were 
several  which  might,  perhaps,  interest  her  Majesty.  The 
Queen  said  she  would  accompany  her  sons,  and  then  directed 
her  own  lord-in-waiting  to  go  and  ask  the  King's  permission. 

Accordingly  the  Queen's  lord-in-waiting  went  to  the  King's 
apartments,  and  found  that  he  was  sitting  in  CounciL  He 
proceeded  to  the  ante-room  of  the  Council-chamber,  and  there 
found  the  King's  lord-in-waiting,  to  whom  he  communicated 
liis  mission. 

The  King's  lord-in-waiting  then  informed  the  Queen's  lord- 
in-waiting  that  important  news  *  had  just  arrived,  and  that  a 
special  council  had  been  called ;  that  of  course  he  was  ready 
to  convey  the  Queen's  message  immediately,  but  he  suggested 
whether,  under  these  circumstances,  the  Queen  would  wish  it 

The  Queen's  lord-in-waiting  now  returned  to  her  Majesty 
for  further  instructions. 

Of  course  the  Queen,  like  a  good  wife,  at  once  gave  up  the 
intention  of  accompanying  her  sons  in  their  interview  with 
the  philosopher.  I  felt  much  regret  at  this  disappointment 
The  Queen  of  Sardinia  was  the  sister  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany  (Leopold  IL),  from  whom  I  had,  many  years  before, 
•  llie  Syrian  qnestion. 

X 


306  THE  WOVEN  PORTRAIT. 

when  under  severe  affliction  from  the  loos  of  a  large  porticm 
of  my  family,  received  the  most  kind  and  gratifying  attention. 

On  my  road  to  Turin  I  had  passed  a  few  days  at  Lyons,  in 
order  to  examine  the  silk  manufacture.  I  was  specially 
anxious  to  see  the  loom  in  which  that  admirable  specimen  of 
fine  art,  the  portrait  of  Jacquard,  was  woven.  I  passed  many 
hours  in  watching  its  progress. 

I  possessed  one  copy,  which  had  been  kindly  given  to 
me  by  a  friend ;  but  as  I  had  proposed  to  visit  Florence  after 
the  meeting  at  Turin,  I  wished  to  procure  another  copy  to 
present  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 

These  beautiful  productions  were  not  made  for  sale  ;  but* 
as  a  favour,  I  was  allowed  to  purchase  one  of  them. 

Whilst  the  General  was  giving  me  this  illustration  of  Court 
etiquette,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  silken  engraving  would 
be  an  appropriate  offering  to  a  lady. 

I  therefore  again  asked  my  friend  whether,  consistently 
with  the  usages  of  the  country,  I  might  be  permitted  to  offer 
the  engraving  to  the  Queen. 

The  sudden  change  of  his  countenance  fix)m  gay  to  grave 
was  very  remarkable.  I  feared  I  had  proposed  something  of 
the  most  unusual  kind.  The  General  then  slowly  replied,  "  I 
will  take  the  King's  pleasure  on  the  subject." 

Two  days  after  the  General  informed  me  that  the  King 
would  give  mo  an  audience  the  next  day,  in  order  that  I 
might  ask  permission  to  present  the  woven  engraving  to  the 
Queen. 

Accordingly,  at  the  appointed  hour,  I  went  to  the  palace 

with  the  large  cartoon-case  containing  the  portrait  of  Jac- 

quard.*     On  being  admitted  into  the  presence  of  the  King, 

I  placed  the  case  upon  a  sofa,  and,  opening  it  carefully,  un- 

•  The  dimensioDB  were  2  ft.  8  in.  by  2  ft  2  in. 


A  FLIGHT  OP  BUTTERPLlfes.  307 

folded  the  woven  portrait  fipom  a  crowd  of  sheets  of  silver 
paper  of  the  most  ethereal  lightness.  I  then  placed  it  in  his 
Majesty's  hands.  The  King  examined  it  minutely  on  both 
sides,  inquired  about  its  structure,  and  appeared  much  pleased 
at  the  sight 

I  now  went  over  to  replace  the  engraving  in  its  travelling- 
carriage.  The  instant  it  approached  its  paper  case  a  multi- 
tude of  sheets  of  silver  paper  were  disturbed  in  their  snug 
repose,  and  forthwith  flew  up  into  the  air.  I  made  many  in- 
effectual efforts  to  catch  these  runaways.  The  King  most 
condescendingly  came  to  my  assistance,  took  the  portrait  out 
of  my  hands,  and  endeavoured  himself  to  replace  it  in  its 
nest,  whilst  I  was  attempting  to  catch  the  flying  covey. 

But  these  volatile  papers  had  no  proper  respect  even  for 
royalty.  The  quires  of  silver  paper  which  had  renfiained  in  the 
case  now  came  out  in  all  directions,  whether  to  do  honour  to 
the  King  by  rising  to  receive  him,  or  to  recall  their  flighty 
sisters  to  their  deserted  couch  I  know  not ;  but  somehow  or 
other  both  the  King  and  myself  were  on  the  floor  upon  our 
knees,  having  secured  some  few  of  the  fallen  angels,  whilst 
a  cloud  of  others,  still  on  the  wing,  continually  eluded  our 
grasp. 

At  last  I  gave  up  the  idea  of  grabbing  at  the  flying  sheets, 
and  confined  my  attention  to  seizing  on  the  fallen  ones. 
Wliile  still  on  my  knees,  I  suddenly  felt  an  obstacle  pre- 
sented to  my  right  foot  On  looking  round  I  perceived  that 
the  heel  of  royalty  had  come  into  contact  with  the  toe  of 
philosophy. 

A  comic  yet  kindly  smile  beamed  upon  the  countenance  of 
the  King,  whilst  an  irrepressible  but  not  irreverent  one, 
lightened  up  my  own. 

The  whole  army  of  butterflies  being  at  last  captured,  and 

X  2 


308  THE  VINTAGE  AT  RAOONIGI. 

the  engraving  replaced,  the  King  entered  into  a  oonyeraa- 
tion  with  me  upon  varions  subjects. 

The  processes  of  wine-making  then  became  the  sabject  of 
conversation.  I  believe  I  may  have  observed  incidentally  in 
reply  to  some  question,  that  my  information  was  only  derived 
from  books,  as  I  had  not  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  any  of  its 
processes.  About  a  week  after  this,  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
household  called  upon  me,  and  told  me  that  the  vintage  of 
Baconigi,  one  of  the  King's  beautiful  domains,  at  about  a  dozen 
miles  from  Turin,  would  commence  in  the  following  week ; 
that  he  was  commanded  by  his  Majesty,  in  case  I  should  wish 
to  examine  the  processes,  to  inform  me  of  the  eireunistanoe, 
and  to  accompany  me  for  the  purpose  of  explaining  them — a 
mission,  he  was  so  kind  as  to  add,  which  would  personally  be 
highly  gratifying  to  himself. 

I  willingly  accepted  this  most  agreeable  proposition,  and 
the  day  was  fixed  upon.  At  an  early  hour  my  friend  was  at 
my  door  in  one  of  the  royal  carriages.  The  weather  was 
magnificent,  and  we  drove  through  a  beautiful  country. 

On  arriving  at  the  vineyard  we  found  several  of  the  pro- 
cesses in  full  operation.  Each  in  succession  was  explained ; 
and  after  spending  a  most  instructive  morning,  we  found  au 
excellent  dinner  prepared  for  us  at  the  jmlace,  where  I  had 

the  pleasure  of  meeting  General  ,  who  presided^  and 

who  had  spent  several  years  in  England. 

On  our  return  in  the  evening  I  observed  a  dragoon  appa- 
rently accompanying  the  carriaga  At  first  I  took  it  for 
granted  tliat  his  road  happened  to  be  the  same  as  ours  *  bat 
after  a  mile  or  two  had  been  passed  over,  seeing  lum  still 
close  to  us,  I  inquired  of  my  companion  if  he  knew  whither 
the  soldier  was  going.  It  then  appeared  that  he  had  been 
sent  by  the  General  as  a  complimentary  escort. 


AUDIENCE  IX)  TAKE  LEAVE.  d09 

However  gratified  I  felt  by  this  attention,  I  still  was  quite 
uncomfortable  at  the  idea  of  having  a  man  galloping  after 
our  carriage  for  ten  miles.  I  therefore  appealed  to  my 
friend  to  suspend  this  unnecessary  loss  of  vis  viva.  With 
some  reluctance  the  dragoon  was  exempted  from  further 
attendance  upon  the  philosopher. 

Shortly  before  I  left  Turin,  one  of  my  Italian  friends  re- 
marked, with  evident  feelings  of  pride  and  satisfaction,  upon 
the  attentions  I  had  received  from  his  sovereign.  *'  The  King, 
he  observed,  has  done  three  things  for  you,  which  are  very 
unusual — 

*'  He  has  shaken  hands  with  you. 

''  He  has  asked  you  to  sit  down  at  an  audience. 

^  He  has  permitted  you  to  make  a  present  to  the  Queen. 
This  last,"  he  added,  « is  the  rarest  of  all." 

Two  days  before  my  departure  from  Turin,  I  had  an 
audience,  to  take  leave  of  his  Majesty.  The  King  inquired  in 
what  direction  I  intended  to  travel  homeward.  I  mentioned 
my  intention  of  taking  the  mail  to  Greneva,  because  it  traversed 
a  most  remarkable  suspension-bridge  over  a  deep  ravine. 
The  span  of  this  bridge,  which  is  named,  after  the  king,  Pont 
Charles  Albert,  is  six  hundred  French  feet,  and  the  depth  of 
the  chasm  over  which  it  is  suspended  is  also  six  hundred 
French  feet.  The  King  immediately  opened  a  drawer,  and, 
taking  out  a  small  bronze  medal,  struck  to  celebrate  the 
opening  of  the  bridge,  presented  it  to  me. 

I  now  took  the  opportunity  of  expressing  to  the  King  my 
gratitude  for  the  many  and  kind  attentions  I  had  received  from 
his  subjects,  and  more  especially  for  the  honour  he  had  himself 
recently  done  me  by  sending  one  of  his  ministers  officiidly  to 
convey  to  me  his  Majesty's  high  approbation  of  my  conduct. 


310  THE  PONT  CHARLES  ALBEBT. 

The  King  then  entered  upon  another  course  of  inquiry, 
more  immediately  connected  with  his  goyemmeni.  I  had  on 
several  occasions,  when  a  £Eivourable  opportunity  presented 
itself,  drawn  the  King's  attention  to  the  doctrine  of  free  trade 
— a  subject  on  which  he  eyidently  felt  a  great  desire  to  be 
informed.  The  questions  put  to  me,  though  necessary  for 
assisting  the  King  to  arrive  at  right  conclusions^  were  of  such 
a  nature  that  I  considered  them  confidential,  and  therefore 
forbear  to  relate  thenu 

Two  days  after  I  started  by  the  mail  for  Genera.  I  shared 
the  CoupiS  of  tlio  Malle  Poste  with  the  courier,  a  very 
intelligent  officer.  On  mentioning  my  wish  to  see  the  cele- 
brated bridge,  he  informed  me  that  he  was  already  aware  of 
my  wishes,  and  that  he  had  received  orders  to  detain  the  mail 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  that  I  might  have  a  good  opportunity 
of  seeing  it 

The  scene  which  presented  itself  on  my  approach  to  the 
Pont  Charles  Albert  was  singularly  grand.  We  had  been 
driving  for  some  time  along  a  road  skirting  the  edge  of  an 
immense  chasm,  six  hundred  and  forty  English  feet  in  depth 
The  opposite  side  was  liid  from  our  view  by  a  mist  which 
hung  over  it.  At  the  next  bend  in  the  road  a  portion  of  the 
bridge  suddenly  became  visible  to  us.  It  appeared  to  spring 
from  a  massive  pier  on  which  the  chains  on  our  side  of  the 
ravine  rested.  The  bridge  itself  was  nearly  level,  and  was 
visible  for  about  three-quarters  only  of  its  length  as  it  tra- 
versed the  valley  far  beneath  it.  The  termination  of  the 
ascending  portion  of  the  chains  on  the  further  pier,  and  that 
jmrt  of  the  bridge  itself,  were  completely  concealed  by  the 
mist.  It  really  seemed  like  a  bridge  springing  from  a  lofty 
cliff  spanning  the  sea  beneath  and  suspended  on  the  distant 
clouds.     When  we  had  desc^ended  from  the  mail  at  the  com- 


ITO  MYSTIC  SCENERY.  311 

mencement,  we  had  directed  the  poetilions  to  drive  slowly 
aeroes  the  bridge,  then  about  a  third  of  a  mile  distant 
from  us. 

We  were  singularly  £Eivoared  by  circumstances.  We  saw 
tlie  carriage  which  had  just  left  us  apparently  crossing  the 
bridge,  then  penetrating  into  the  clouds,  and  finally  be- 
coming entirely  lost  to  our  yiew.  At  the  same  time  the  dis- 
solving mist  in  our  own  immediate  neighbourhood  began  to 
allow  us  to  perceive  the  depth  of  the  valley  beneath,  and  at 
last  even  the  little  wandering  brook,  which  looked  like  a 
thread  of  silver  at  its  bottom. 

The  sun  now  burst  out  from  behind  a  range  of  clouds, 
which  had  obscured  it.  Its  warm  rays  speedily  dissipated  the 
mist,  illuminated  the  dark  gulf  at  our  own  side,  and  discovered 
to  us  the  mail  on  terra  firma  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  chasm 
waiting  to  convey  us  to  our  destination. 

On  our  arrival  at  Annecy,  my  thoughtful  companion  in- 
formed me  that  the  mail  would  wait  five-and-forty  minutes. 
He  suggested,  as  I  was  not  in  good  health,  that  I  should  imme- 
diately on  my  arrival  get  into  bed,  whilst  he  would  order  tea, 
or  8upj>er,  or  any  refreshment  I  might  prefer,  and  that  he 
would  be  answerable  for  calling  me  at  the  proper  time  to 
enable  me  to  get  comfortably  whatever  I  might  require,  and 
be  ready  to  start  again  with  the  mail. 

I  have  frequently  attempted  to  assign  in  my  own  mind  the 
reasons  of  the  singularly  favourable  reception  I  met  with  from 
the  King  of  Sardinia.  The  reputation  arising  from  the  Ana- 
lytical Engine  could  scarcely  have  produced  that  efiect.  The 
{Kjsition  of  a  sovereign  is  a  very  exceptional  one.  He  is 
surrounded  by  persons  each  of  whom  has  always  one  or  more 
objects  to  gain.     It  is  scarcely  within  the  limits  of  possibility 


312  ELEMENTS  OF  MY  SUCCESS  AT  TURIN. 

that  he  can  hare  a  real  friend,  or  if  he  have  that  rarest 
commodity,  that  he  can  know  the  &ct. 

A  certain  amount  of  distrust  must  therefore  almost  always 
exist  in  his  mind.  But  this  habitual  distrust  applies  less  to 
foreigners  than  to  his  own  subjects.  The  comet  which  passes 
through'  the  thick  atmosphere  of  a  Court  may  be  temporarily 
dbturbed  in  its  path  though  it  may  never  revisit  it  agaiiu 

Perhaps  the  first  element  of  my  success  was,  that  having 
been  the  victim  of  shyness  in  early  life,  I  could  sympathise 
with  those  who  still  suffered  under  that  painful  complaint. 

Another  reason  may  have  been,  that  I  never  stated  more 
than  I  really  knew.  This  is,  I  believe,  a  very  unusual  practice 
in  Courts  of  every  kind  ;  and  when  it  happens  to  be  obviously 
sincere,  it  commands  great  influence. 

There  might  be  yet  another  reason : — ^it  was  well  known 
that  I  had  nothing  to  ask  for — ^to  expect— or  to  desire. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


BAILWAYS. 


Opening  of  Manchester  and  Liycrpool  Railway— Death  of  Mr.  Hoskiason 
— Plate-glaaa  Mannfactoiy — Mode  of  separating  Engine  from  Train- 
Broad-gauge  Question — Experimental  Carriage — Measure  the  Force  of 
Traction,  the  Vertical,  Lateral,  and  End  Shake  of  Carriage,  also  its 
Velocity  by  Chronometer — Fortunate  Escape  from  meeting  on  the  same 
Line  Brunei  on  another  Engine — Sailed  across  the  Uanwell  Viaduct  in  a 
Waggon  without  Steam — Meeting  of  British  Association  at  Newcastle^ 
George  Stephenson — ^Dr.  Lardner— Suggestions  for  greater  Safety  on  Bail- 
roads — George  Stephenson's  Opinion  of  the  Gauges — Railways  at  National 
Exhibitions. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  lailway  aystem  I  naturally 
took  a  great  interest  in  the  subject^  from  its  bearings  upon 
mechanism  as  well  as  upon  political  economy. 

I  accompanied  Mr.  Woolryche  Whitmore,  the  member 
for  Bridgenorth,  to  Liyerpool,  at  the  opening  of  the  Man- 
chester and  Liyerpool  BaOway.  The  morning  preyions  to 
the  opening,  we  met  Mr.  Huskisson  at  the  Exchange,  and  my 
friend  introduced  me  to  him.  The  next  day  the  nnmerons 
trains  started  with  their  heavy  load  of  trayeUers.  All  went 
on  pleasantly  until  we  reached  Parkside,  near  Newton. 
During  the  time  the  engines  which  drew  us  were  taking  in 
their  water  and  their  fuel,  many  of  the  passengers  got  out  and 
recognized  their  friends  in  other  trains. 

At  a  certain  signal  all  resumed  their  seats ;  but  we  had 


314  FATAL  ACCIDENT  TO  MR,  HUSKISSON. 

not  proceeded  a  mile  before  the  whole  of  onr  trains  came  to  a 
stand-still  without  any  ostensible  cause.  After  some  time 
spent  in  yarious  conjectures,  a  single  engine  almost  flew  past 
us  on  the  other  line  of  rail,  drawing  with  it  the  ornamental 
car  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  other  officiab  had  so 
recently  occupied.  Instead  of  its  former  numerous  company 
it  appeared  to  convey  only  two,  or  at  most  three,  persons ;  but 
the  rapidity  of  its  flight  prevented  any  close  observation  of 
the  passengers. 

A  certain  amount  of  alarm  now  began  to  pervade  the 
trains,  and  various  conjectures  were  afloat  of  some  serious 
accident  After  a  while  Mr.  Whitmore  and  myself  got  out 
of  our  carriage  and  hastened  back  towards  the  halting  place. 
At  a  little  distance  before  us,  in  the  middle  of  the  railway, 
fetood  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Sir  Bobert  Peel,  and  the 
Boroughreeve  of  Manchester,  discussing  the  course  to  be 
pursued  in  consequence  of  the  dreadful  accident  which  had 
befallen  Mr.  Huskisson,  whom  I  had  seen  but  a  few  minutes 
before  standing  at  the  door  of  the  carriage  conversing  with 
the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  Duke  was  anxious  that  the 
whole  party  should  return  to  Liverpool ;  but  the  chief  o£Scer 
of  Manchester  pressed  upon  them  the  necessity  of  continuing 
the  journey,  stating  that  if  it  were  given  up  he  could  not  be 
answerable  for  the  safety  of  the  town. 

It  was  at  last  mournfully  resolved  to  continue  our  course 
to  Manchester,  where  a  luncheon  had  been  prepared  for  us ; 
but  to  give  up  all  the  ceremonial,  and  to  return  as  soon  as  we 
could  to  Liverpool. 

For  several  miles  before  we  reached  our  destination  the 
sides  of  the  railroad  were  crowded  by  a  highly-excited  popu- 
lace shouting  and  yelling.  I  feared  each  moment  that  some 
still  greater  sacrifice  of  life  might  occur  from  the  people 


GREAT  DELAY— RUMOURS  OF  DISASTER.  816 

madly  attempting  to  stop  by  their  feeble  amiB  the  momentam 
of  our  enormous  trains. 

Having  rapidly  taken  what  refreshment  was  necessary, 
we  waited  with  anxiety  for  our  trains ;  but  hour  after  hour 
passed  away  before  they  were  able  to  start  The  catkse  of 
this  delay  arose  thus.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  the 
guest  of  the  Earl  of  Wilton,  the  nearest  station  to  whose 
residence  was  almost  half  way  between  Manchester  and 
LiverpooL  A  train  therefore  was  ordered  to  conyey  the 
party  to  Heaton  House.  Unfortunately,  our  engines  had 
necessarily  gone  a  considerable  distance  upon  that  line  to  get 
their  supply  of  water,  and  were  thus  cut  off  by  the  train  con- 
yeying  the  Duke,  from  returning  direct  to  Manchester. 

There  were  not  yet  at  this  early  period  of  railway  history 
any  sidings  to  allow  of  a  passage,  or  any  crossing  to  enable 
the  engines  to  get  upon  the  other  line  of  rail&  Under  these 
circumstances  the  drivers  took  the  shortest  course  open  to 
them.  Having  taken  in  their  water,  they  pushed  on  as  fast 
as  they  could  to  a  crossing  at  a  short  distance  from  LiverpooL 
They  backed  into  the  other  line  of  rail,  and  thus  returned  to 
Manchester  to  pick  up  their  trains. 

In  the  meantime  the  vague  rumour  of  some  great  disaster 
had  reached  LiverpooL  Thousands  of  persons,  many  of 
whom  had  friends  and  relatives  in  the  excursion  trains, 
were  congregated  on  the  bridges  and  at  the  raQway  station, 
anxious  to  learn  news  of  their  friends  and  relatives. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  they  perceived  at  a 
distance  half-a-dozen  engines  without  any  carriages,  rushing 
furiously  towards  them — suddenly  checking  their  speed — ^then 
backing  into  the  other  line  of  rail— again  flying  away  towards 
Manchester,  without  giving  any  signs  or  explanation  of  the 
mystery  in  which  many  of  them  were  so  deeply  interested. 


316  PLATE-GLASS  MANUFACTORY. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  amount  of  anxiety  and  rxuaery 
which  was  thus  unwillingly  but  inevitably  caused  amongst 
all  those  who  had  friends,  connections,  or  relatives  in  the 
missing  trains. 

When  these  engines  returned  to  Manchester,  our  trains 
were  unfortunately  connected  together,  and  three  engines 
were  attached  to  the  front  of  each  group  of  three  trains. 

This  arrangement  considerably  diminished  their  joint 
power  of  traction.  But  another  source  of  delay  arose :  the 
couplings  which  were  strong  enough  when  connecting  an 
engine  and  its  train  were  not  sufficiently  strong  when  three 
engines  were  coupled  together.  The  consequence  was  that 
there  were  frequent  fractures  of  our  couplings  and  thus  great 
delays  arose. 

About  half-past  eight  in  the  evening  I  reached  the  great 
building  in  which  we  were  to  have  dined.  Its  tables  were 
half  filled  with  separate  groups  of  three  or  four  people  each, 
who  being  strangers  in  Liverpool,  had  no  other  resource  than 
to  use  it  as  a  kind  of  coffee-room  in  which  to  get  a  hasty 
meal,  and  retire. 

The  next  morning  I  went  over  to  see  the  plate-glass 
manufactory  at  about  ten  miles  from  Liverpool. 

On  my  arrival  I  found,  to  my  great  disappointment,  that 
there  were  orders  that  nobody  should  be  admitted  on  that 
day,  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  a  large  party  were 
coming  over  from  Lord  Wilton's.  This  was  the  only  day  at 
my  disposal,  and  it  wanted  nearly  an  hour  to  the  time  ap- 
pointed :  so  I  asked  to  be  permitted  to  see  the  works,  pro- 
mising to  retire  as  soon  as  the  Earl  of  Wilton's  party  arrived. 
I  added  incidentally  that  I  was  not  entirely  unknown  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  party  I  quietly  made  my  retreat  un- 


ON  PREVENTING  RAILWAY  ACCIDENTS.  317 

observedy  and  had  just  entered  the  carriage  which  had  conveyed 
me  irom  Liverpool,  when  a  messenger  arrived  with  the  Dnke*B 
compliments,  hoping  that  I  would  join  his  party.  I  willingly 
accepted  the  invitation ;  the  Duke  presented  me  to  each  of 
his  friends,  and  I  had  the  advantage  of  having  another  sm> 
vey  of  the  works.  This  was  my  first  acquaintance  with  the 
late  Lady  Wilton,  who  afterwards  called  on  me  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  and  put  that  sagacious  question  relative 
to  the  Difierence  Engine  which  I  have  mentioned  in  another 
part  of  this  volume.  Amongst  the  party  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Arbuthnot,  with  the  former  of  whom  I  afterwards  had  several 
interesting  discussions  relative  to  subjects  connected  with 
the  ninth  "  Bridgewater  Treatise." 

A  few  days  after,  I  met  at  dinner  a  large  party  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  great  Liverpool  merchants.  Amongst 
them  were  several  officers  of  the  new  railway,  and  almost  all 
the  party  were  more  or  less  interested  in  its  success. 

In  these  circumstances  the  conversation  very  naturally 
turned  upon  the  new  mode  of  locomotion.  Its  various  diffi- 
culties and  dangers  were  suggested  and  discussed.  Amongst 
others,  it  was  observed  that  obstacles  might  be  placed  upon 
the  rail,  either  accidentally  or  by  design,  which  might  pro- 
duce expensive  and  fatal  effects. 

To  prevent  the  occurrence  of  these  evils,  I  suggested  two 
remedies. 

Ist.  That  every  engine  should  have  just  in  advance  of  each 
of  its  front  wheels  a  powerful  framing,  supporting  a  strong 
piece  of  plate-iron,  descending  within  an  inch  or  two  of  the 
upper  face  of  the  raiL  These  iron  plates  should  be  fixed  at 
an  angle  of  45^  with  the  line  of  rail,  and  also  at  the  same 
angle  with  respect  to  the  horizon.  Their  shape  would  be 
something  like  that  of  ploughshares,  and  their  effect  would 


8ia  VARIOUS  PLANS  PROPOSED. 

be  to  pitch  any  obstacle  obliquely  off  the  rail  nnless  its 
heavier  portion  were  between  the  rails. 

Some  time  after,  a  strong  vertical  bar  of  iron  was  placed  in 
front  of  the  wheels  of  every  engine.  The  objection  to  this  is, 
that  it  has  a  tendency  to  throw  the  obstacle  straight  forward 
upon  another  part  of  the  rail. 

2nd.  The  second  suggestion  I  made,  was  to  place  in  front  of 
each  engine  a  strong  leather  apron  attached  to  a  powerful 
iron  bar,  projecting  five  or  six  feet  in  front  of  the  engine  and 
about  a  foot  above  the  ballast.  The  effect  of  this  would  be, 
that  any  animal  straying  over  the  railway  would  be  pitched 
into  this  apron,  probably  having  its  legs  broken,  but  forming 
no  impediment  to  the  progress  of  the  train. 

I  have  been  informed  that  this  contrivance  has  been 
adopted  in  America,  where  the  railroads,  being  unenclosed^ 
are  subject  to  frequent  obstruction  from  cattle.  If  used  on 
enclosed  roads,  it  still  might  occasionally  save  the  lives  of 
incautious  persons,  although  possibly  at  the  expense  of  broken 
limbs. 

Another  question  discussed  at  this  party  was,  whether,  if 
an  engine  went  off  the  rail,  it  would  be  possible  to  separate  it 
from  the  train  before  it  had  dragged  the  latter  after  it  I 
took  out  my  pencil  and  sketched  upon  a  card  a  simple  method 
of  accomplishing  that  object.  It  passed  round  the  table,  and 
one  of  the  party  suggested  that  I  should  communicate  the 
plan  to  the  Directors  of  the  railway. 

My  answer  was,  that  having  a  great  wish  to  diminish  the 
dangers  of  this  new  mode  of  travelling,  I  declined  making 
any  such  communication  to  them  ;  for,  I  added,  unless  these 
Directors  are  quite  unlike  all  of  whom  I  have  had  any  expe- 
rience, I  can  foresee  the  inevitable  result  of  such  a  communi- 
cation. 


REASONS  WHY  REJECTED.  819 

It  might  take  me  some  time  and  trouble  to  consider  the  best 
way  of  carrying  oat  the  principle  and  to  make  the  necessary 
drawings.  Some  time  after  I  have  placed  these  in  the  hands 
of  the  Company,  I  shall  receive  a  very  pretty  letter  from  the 
secretary,  thanking  me  in  the  most  flattering  terms  for  the 
highly  ingenious  plan  I  hare  placed  in  their  hands,  but  re- 
gretting that  their  engineer  finds  certain  practical  difficulties 
in  the  way. 

Now,  if  the  same  Ck)mpany  had  taken  the  advice  of  some 
eminent  engineer,  to  whom  they  would  have  to  pay  a  large 
fee,  no  practical  difficulties  would  ever  be  found  to  prevent 
its  trial 

It  was  evident  from  the  remarks  of  several  of  the  party 
that  I  had  pointed  out  the  most  probable  result  of  any  such 
communication. 

It  is  possible  that  some  report  of  this  plan  subsequently 
reached  the  Directx)rs ;  for  about  six  months  after,  I  received 
from  an  officer  of  the  railway  Company  a  letter,  asking  my 
assistance  upon  this  identical  point.  I  sent  them  my  sketch 
and  all  the  information  I  had  subsequently  acquired  on  the 
subject.  I  received  the  stereotype  reply  I  had  anticipated, 
couched  in  the  most  courteous  language ;  in  short,  quite  a 
model  letter  for  a  young  secretary  to  study. 

Several  better  contrivances  than  mine  were  subsequently 
proposed ;  but  experience  seems  to  show  that  the  whole  train 
ought  to  be  connected  together  as  firmly  as  possible. 

Not  long  after  my  return  from  Liverpool  I  found  myself 
seated  at  dinner  next  to  an  elderly  gentleman,  an  eminent 
London  banker.  The  new  system  of  railroads,  of  course,  was 
the  ordinary  topic  of  conversation.  Much  had  been  said  in 
its  favour,  but  my  neighbour  did  not  appear  to  concur  with 
the  majority.     At  last  I  had  an  opportunity  of  asking  his 


320  THE  AUTHOR'S  EXPERIMENTS  ON 

(pinion.  ''  Ah/'  said  the  banker,  **  I  don't  approve  of  this 
new  mode  of  travelling.  It  will  enable  our  clerks  to  plunder 
us,  and  then  be  off  to  Liverpool  on  their  way  to  America  at 
the  rate  of  ttoenty  miles  an  hour."  I  suggested  that  science 
might  perhaps  remedy  this  evil,  and  that  possibly  we  might 
send  lightning  to  outstrip  the  culprit's  arrival  at  Liverpool, 
and  thus  render  the  railroad  a  sure  means  of  arresting  the 
thief.  I  had  at  the  time  I  uttered  those  words  no  idea  how 
soon  they  would  be  realized. 

In  1838  and  1839  a  discussion  of  considerable  public 
importance  had  arisen  respecting  the  Great  Western  Bail- 
way.  Having  an  interest  in  that  undertaking,  it  was  the 
wish  of  Mr.  Brunei  and  the  Directors  that  I  should  state  my 
own  opinion  upon  the  question.  I  felt  that  I  could  not  speak 
with  confidence  without  making  certain  experiments.  The 
Directors  therefore  lent  me  steam-power,  and  a  second-class 
carriage  to  fit  up  with  machinery  of  my  own  contrivance,  and 
appointed  one  of  their  officers  to  accompany  me,  through 
whom  I  might  give  such  directions  as  I  deemed  necessary 
during  my  experiments. 

I  removed  the  whole  of  the  internal  parts  of  the  carriage. 
Through  its  bottom  firm  supports,  fixed  upon  the  framework 
below,  passed  up  into  the  body  of  the  carriage,  and  supported 
a  long  table  entirely  independent  of  its  motions. 

On  this  table  slowly  rolled  sheets  of  paper,  each  a  thousand 
feet  long.  Several  inking  pens  traced  curves  on  this  paper, 
which  expressed  the  following  measures : — 

1.  Force  of  traction. 

2.  Vertical  shake  of  carriage  at  its  middle. 

3.  Lateral  ditto. 

4.  End  ditto. 

5.  6,  and  7.  The  same  shakes  at  the  end  of  the  carriage. 


THE  GREAT  WESTERN  RAILWAY.  821 

8.  The  curve  described  upon  the  earth  by  the  centre  of 

the  frame  of  the  carriage. 

9.  A  chronometer  marked  half  seconds  on  the  paper. 

Above  two  miles  of  paper  were  thus  covered.  These  expe- 
riments cost  me  about  3002.,  and  took  up  my  own  time, 
and  that  of  all  the  people  I  was  then  employing,  during  five 
months. 

I  had  previously  travelled  over  most  of  the  railways  then 
existing  in  this  country,  in  order  to  make  notes  of  such  &cts 
as  I  could  observe  during  my  journeys. 

The  result  of  my  experiments  convinced  me  that  the  broad 
gauge  was  most  convenient  and  safest  for  the  public  It  also 
enabled  me  fearlessly  to  assert  that  an  immense  array  of 
experiments  which  were  exhibited  round  the  walls  of  the 
meeting-room  by  those  who  opposed  the  Directors  were  made 
with  an  instrument  which  could  not  possibly  measure  the 
quantities  proposed,  and  that  the  whole  of  them  were  worth- 
less for  the  present  argument.  The  production  of  the  work 
of  such  an  instrument  could  not  fail  to  damage  even  a  good 
cause. 

On  the  discussion  at  the  general  meeting  at  the  London 
Tavern,  I  made  a  statement  of  my  own  views,  which  was 
admitted  at  the  time  to  have  had  considerable  influence  on 
the  decision  of  the  proprietors.  Many  years  after  I  met 
a  gentleman  who  told  me  he  and  a  few  other  proprietors 
holding  several  thousand  proxies  came  up  from  Liverpool 
intending  to  vote  according  to  the  weight  of  the  arguments 
adduced.  He  informed  me  that  he  and  all  his  friends  decided 
their  votes  on  hearing  my  statement.  He  then  added,  '^  But 
for  that  speech,  the  broad  gauge  would  not  now  exist  in 
England." 

These  experiments  were  not  unaccompanied  with  danger. 

Y 


822  THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  ADVENTURES 

I  sometimes  attached  my  carriage  to  a  public  train  to  convey 
me  to  the  point  where  my  experiments  commenced,  and  I 
had  frequently  to  interrapt  their  course,  in  order  to  run  on  to 
a  siding  to  avoid  a  coming  train. 

I  then  asked  to  be  allowed  to  make  such  ezperimenfa 
during  the  night  when  there  were  no  trains ;  but  Brunei  told 
me  it  was  too  dangerous  to  be  permitted,  and  that  ballast- 
waggons,  and  others,  carrying  machinery  and  materials  for 
the  construction  and  completion  of  the  railroad  itself,  were 
continually  traversing  various  parts  of  the  line  at  nncertain 
hours. 

The  soundness  of  this  advice  became  evident  a  very  dioit 
time  after  it  was  given.  On  arriving  one  morning  at  the 
terminus,  the  engine  which  had  been  promised  for  my  ex- 
perimental train  was  not  ready,  but  another  was  provided 
instead.  On  further  inquiry,  I  found  that  the  "  North  Star," 
the  finest  engine  the  Company  then  possessed,  had  been 
placed  at  the  end  of  the  great  polygonal  building  devoted  to 
engines,  in  order  that  it  might  be  ready  for  my  service  in  the 
morning ;  but  that,  during  the  night,  a  train  of  twenty-five 
empty  ballast-waggons,  each  containing  two  men,  driven  by 
an  engine,  both  the  driver  and  stoker  of  which  were  asleep, 
had  passed  right  through  the  engine-house  and  damaged  the 
"North  Star." 

Most  fortunately,  no  accident  happened  to  the  men  beyond 
a  severe  shaking.  It  ought,  however,  in  extenuation  of  such 
neglect,  to  be  observed  that  engine-drivers  were  at  that 
period  so  few,  and  so  thoroughly  overworked,  that  such  an 
occurrence  was  not  surprising. 

It  then  occurred  to  me,  that  being  engaged  on  a  work 
which  was  anything  but  profitable  to  myself,  but  which  con- 
tributed to  the  safety  of  all  travellers,  I  might,  without  im- 


AND  ESCAPES  BT  RAIL.  828 

propriety,  avail  myself  of  the  repoee  of  Sunday  for  advanciDg 
my  measures.  I  therefore  desired  Brunei  to  ask  for  the 
Directors'  permission.  The  next  time  I  saw  Brunei,  he  told 
me  the  Directors  did  not  like  to  give  an  official  permission, 
but  it  was  remarked  that  having  put  one  of  their  own  officers 
under  my  orders,  I  had  already  the  power  of  travelling  on 
whatever  day  I  preferred. 

I  accordingly  availed  myself  of  the^day  on  which,  at  that 
time,  scarcely  a  single  train  or  engine  would  be  in  motion 
upon  it. 

Upon  one  of  these  Sundays,  which  were,  in  fact,  the  only 
really  safe  days,  I  had  proposed  to  investigate  the  effect  of 
considerable  additional  weight.  With  this  object,  I  had 
ordered  three  waggons  laden  with  thirty  tons  of  iron  to  be 
attached  to  my  experimental  carriage. 

On  my  arrival  at  the  terminus  a  few  minutes  before  the 
time  appointed,  my  aide-do-camp  informed  me  that  we  were 
to  travel  on  the  north  line.  As  this  was  an  invasion  of  the 
usual  regulations,  I  inquired  very  minutely  into  the  authority 
on  which  it  rested.  Being  satisfied  on  this  point,  I  desired 
him  to  order  my  train  out  immediately.  Ho  returned  shortly 
with  the  news  that  the  fireman  had  n^lected  his  duty,  but  that 
the  engine  would  be  ready  in  less  tlian  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

A  messenger  arrived  soon  after  to  inform  me  that  the  ob- 
structions had  been  removed,  and  that  I  could  now  pass  upon 
the  south,  which  was  the  proper  line. 

I  was  looking  at  the  departure  of  the  only  Sunday  train, 
and  conversing  with,  the  officer,  who  took  much  pains  to 
assure  me  that  there  was  no  danger  on  whichever  line  we 
might  travel ;  because,  he  observed,  when  that  train  had  de- 
parted, there  can  be  no  engine  except  our  own  on  either  lino 
until  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

y2 


824  ESCAPES  MEETING  BRUNEL, 

Whilst  we  were  conversing  together,  my  ear,  which  had 
become  peculiarly  sensitiye  to  the  distant  sound  of  an  engine, 
told  me  that  one  was  approaching.  I  mentioned  it  to  my 
railway  ofiScial :  he  did  not  hear  it,  and  said,  **  Sir,  it  is  impoe- 
.  sible." — "  Whether  it  is  possible  or  impossible,"  I  said,  "  an 
eiigine  is  coming,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  shall  see  its  steanL** 
The  sound  soon  became  evident  to  both,  and  our  eyes  were 
anxiously  directed  to  the  expected  quarter.  The  white  cloud 
of  steam  now  faintly  appeared  in  the  distance ;  I  soon  per- 
ceived the  line  it  occupied,  and  then  turned  to  watch  my 
companion's  countenance.  In  a  few  moments  more  I  saw  it 
slightly  change,  and  he  said,  ''It  is,  indeed,  on  the  narth 
line." 

Knowing  that  it  would  stop  at  the  engine-house,  I  ran  as 
fast  I  could  to  that  spot  I  found  a  single  engine,  from 
which  Brunei,  covered  with  smoke  and  blacks,  had  just  de- 
scended. We  shook  hands,  and  I  inquired  what  brought  my 
friend  here  in  such  a  plight  Brunei  told  me  that  he  had 
posted  from  Bristol,  to  meet  the  only  train  at  the  furthest 
point  of  the  rail  then  open,  but  had  missed  it."  Fortunately, 
he  said,  "  I  found  this  engine  with  its  fire  up,  so  I  ordered  it 
out,  and  have  driven  it  the  whole  way  up  at  the  rate  of  fifty 
miles  an  hour." 

I  then  told  him  that  but  for  the  merest  accident  I  should 
have  met  him  on  the  same  line  at  the  rate  of  forty  miles,  and 
that  I  had  attached  to  my  engine  my  experimental  carriage, 
and  three  waggons  with  thirty  tons  of  iron.  I  then  inquired 
what  course  he  would  have  pursued  if  he  had  perceived 
another  engine  meeting  him  upon  his  own  line. 

Brunei  said,  in  such  a  case  he  should  have  put  on  all  the 
steam  he  could  command,  with  a  view  of  driving  off  the  oppo- 
site engine  by  the  superior  velocity  of  his  own. 


SAILS  ACROSS  HANWELL  VIADUCT.  825 

K  the  concussion  had  occorredy  the  probability  is,  that 
Bniners  engine  would  have  been  knocked  off  the  rail  by  the 
superior  momentum  of  my  train,  and  that  my  experimental 
carriage  would  hare  been  buried  under  the  iron  contained  in 
the  waggons  behind. 

These  rates  of  travelling  were  then  unusual,  but  hare  now 
become  common.  The  greatest  speed  which  I  have  person- 
ally witnessed,  occurred  on  the  return  of  a  train  from 
Bristol,  on  the  ocx^sion  of  the  floating  of  the  **  Great  Britain." 
I  was  in  a  compartment,  in  conversation  with  three  eminent 
engineers,  when  one  of  them  remarked  the  unusual  speed  of 
the  train :  my  neighbour  on  my  left  took  out  his  watch,  and 
noted  the  time  of  passage  of  the  distance  posts,  whence  it 
appeared  that  we  were  then  travelling  at  the  rate  of  seventy- 
eight  miles  an  hour.  The  train  was  evidently  on  an  incline, 
and  we  did  not  long  sustain  that  dangerous  velocity. 

One  very  cold  day  I  found  Dr.  Lardner  making  experi- 
ments on  the  Great  Western  Railway.  He  was  drawing  a 
series  of  trucks  with  an  engine  travelling  at  known  velocities. 
At  certain  intervals,  a  truck  was  detached  from  his  train. 
The  time  occupied  by  this  truck  before  it  came  to  rest  was 
the  object  to  be  noted.  As  Dr.  Lardner  was  short  of  assist- 
ants, I  and  my  son  offered  to  get  into  one  of  his  trucks  and 
note  for  him  the  time  of  coming  to  rest 

Our  truck  having  been  detached,  it  came  to  rest^  and  I  had 
noted  the  time.  After  waiting  a  few  minutes,  I  thought  I 
perceived  a  slight  motion,  which  continued,  though  slowly.  It 
then  occurred  to  me  that  this  must  arise  from  the  effect  of 
the  wind,  which  was  blowing  strongly.  On  my  way  to  the 
station,  feeling  very  cold,  I  had  purchased  three  yards  of  coarse 
blue  woollen  doth,  which  I  wound  round  my  person.  This  I 
now  unwound ;  we  held  it  up  as  a  sail,  and  gradually  acquiring 


326  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GAUGES. 

greater  velocity,  finally  reached  and  sailed  across  the  whol 
of  the  Hanwell  viaduct  at  a  very  feir  pace. 

The  question  of  the  best  gauge  for  a  system  of  railways  i 
yet  undecided.  The  present  gauge  of  4'8J  was  the  result  c 
the  accident  that  certain  tram-roads  adjacent  to  mines  wer 
of  that  width.  When  the  wide  gauge  of  the  Great  Wester 
was  suggested  and  carried  out,  there  arose  violent  part 
movements  for  and  against  it.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Britis! 
Association  at  Newcastle,  in  1838,  there  were  two  sources  c 
anxiety  to  the  Council — the  discussion  of  the  question  € 
Steam  Navigation  to  America,  and  what  was  called  •*Th 
battles  of  the  Gauges."  Both  these  questions  bore  ver 
strongly  upon  pecuniary  interests,  and  were  expected  to  h 
fiercely  contested. 

On  the  Council  of  the  British  Association,  of  coarse,  th( 
duty  of  nominating  the  Presidents  and  Vice-Presidents  of  it 
various  sections  devolves.  During  the  period  in  which  ] 
took  an  active  part  in  that  body,  it  was  always  a  principle,  ol 
which  I  was  ever  the  warm  advocate,  that  we  should  select 
those  officers  from  amongst  the  persons  most  distingoished 
for  their  eminence  in  their  respective  subjects,  who  were 
bom  in  or  connected  with  the  district  we  visited. 

In  pursuance  of  this  principle,  I  was  deputed  by  the 
Council  to  invite  Mr.  George  Stephenson  to  become  the  Pre 
sident  of  the  Mechanical  Section.  In  case  he  should  decline 
it,  I  was  then  empowered  to  offer  it  to  Mr.  Buddie,  the  emi- 
nent coal-viewer ;  and  in  case  of  these  both  declining,  I  wai 
to  propose  it  to  the  late  Mr.  Bryan  Donkin,  of  London,  i 
native  of  that  district,  and  connected  with  it  by  family  ties. 

On  my  arrival  at  Newcastle,  I  immediately  called  oi 
George  Stephenson,  and  represented  to  him  the  unaniniout 
wish  of  the  Council  of  the  British  Association.     To  my  great 


BRITISH  ASSOCIATION  AT  NEWCASTLK  827 

surprise,  and  to  my  still  greater  regret,  I  found  that  he  at 
once  declined  the  offer.  All  my  powers  of  persuasion  were 
exercised  in  vain.  Knowing  that  the  two  great  controverted 
questions  to  be  discussed  most  probably  formed  the  real 
obstacle,  I  mentioned  them,  and  added  that,  as  I  should  be 
one  of  his  Vice-Presidents,  I  would,  if  he  wished  it,  take  the 
Chair  upon  either  or  upon  both  the  discussions  of  the  Gk^uges 
and  of  the  Atlantic  Steam  Voyage,  or  upon  any  other  occasion 
that  might  be  agreeable  or  convenient  to  himself:  I  found 
him  immoveable  in  his  decision.  I  made  another  attempt  the 
next  day,  and  renewed  the  expression  of  my  own  strong 
feeling,  that  we  should  pay  respect  and  honour  to  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  the  district  we  visited.  I  then  told  him 
the  course  I  was  instructed  by  the  Council  to  pursue. 

My  next  step  was  to  apply  to  Mr.  Buddie.  I  need  not 
repeat  the  arguments  I  employed :  I  was  equally  unsuccessful 
with  each  of  the  eminent  men  the  Council  had  wished  to 
honour.  I  therefore  now  went  back  to  George  Stephenson, 
told  him  of  the  failure  of  my  efforts,  and  asked  him,  if  he 
still  persisted  in  declining  the  Chair,  would  he  do  me 
the  favour  to  be  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents,  as  the  Councfl 
had  now  no  resource  but  to  place  me  in  the  Chair,  which  I 
had  hoped  would  have  been  occupied  by  a  more  competent 
person. 

To  this  latter  application  he  kindly  acceded ;  and  I  felt 
that,  with  the  assistance  of  Greorge  Stephenson's  and  Mr. 
Donkin's  professional  knowledge,  and  their  presence  by  my 
side,  I  should  be  able  to  keep  order  in  these  dreaded  dis- 
cussions. 

The  day  before  the  great  discussion  upon  Atlantic  Steam 
Navigation,  I  had  a  short  conversation  with  Dr.  Lardner :  I 
told  him  that  in  my  opinion  some  of  his  views  were  hasty ; 


828  RAILWAY  DISCUSSION. 

but  that  much  stronger  opinions  had  been  assigned  to  him 
than  those  he  had  really  expressed,  and  I  recommended  him 
to  admit  as  much  as  he  fairly  could. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  room  was  filled  with  an  ex- 
pectant and  rather  angry  audience.  Dr.  Lardner's  beautifiil 
apparatus  for  illustrating  his  yiews  was  before  them,  and  the 
Doctor  commenced  his  statement  He  was  listened  to  with 
the  greatest  attention,  and  was  reaUy  most  judicious  as  well  as 
very  instructive.  At  the  very  moment  which  seemed  to  me 
the  most  favourable  for  it,  he  turned  to  the  explanation  of  the 
instruments  he  proposed  to  employ,  and  having  concluded  his 
statement,  it  became  my  duty  to  invite  discussion  upon  the 
question. 

I  did  so  in  very  few  words,  merely  observing  that  several 
opinions  had  been  attributed  to  Dr.  Lardner  which  he  had 
never  maintained,  and  that  additional  information  had  induced 
him  candidly  to  admit  that  some  of  those  doctrines  which  he 
had  sup}X)rted  were  erroneous.  I  added,  that  nothing  was 
more  injurious  to  the  progress  of  truth  than  to  reproach  any 
man  who  honestly  admitted  that  he  had  been  in  error. 

The  discussion  then  commenced:  it  was  continued  with 
considerable  energy,  but  with  great  temper ;  and  after  a  long 
and  instructive  debate  the  assembled  multitude  separated. 
Some  few  who  attended  in  expectation  of  a  scene  were  sorely 
disappointed.    As  I  was  passing  out,  one  of  my  acquaintance 

remarked,  "You  have  saved  that Lardner :'•  to 

which  I  replied,  "  I  have  saved  the  British  Association  fiom 
a  scandal." 

Before  I  terminate  this  Chapter  on  Railways,  it  will  perlum 
be  expected  by  some  of  my  readers  that  I  should  point  out 
such  measures  as  occur  to  me  for  rendering  this  uniyersal 
system  more  safe.     Since  the  long  series  of  experiments  I 


MEANS  OF  SAFETY  FOR  TRAINS.  329 

made  in  1839,  I  hare  had  no  experience  either  official  or 
professional  upon  the  subject  My  opinions,  therefore,  must 
be  taken  only  at  what  they  are  worth,  and  will  probably  be 
regarded  as  the  dreams  of  an  amateur.  I  have  indeed  formed 
very  decided  opinions  upon  certain  measures  relative  to  rail- 
roads ;  but  my  hesitation  to  make  them  public  arises  from 
the  circumstance,  that  by  publishing  them  I  may  possibly 
delay  their  adoption.  It  may  happen,  as  is  now  happening 
to  my  system  of  distinguishing  lighthouses  from  each  other, 
and  of  night  telegraphic  communication  between  ships  at  sea 
— that  although  officially  communicated  to  all  the  great  mari- 
time governments,  and  even  publicly  exhibited  for  months 
during  the  Exhibition  of  1851,  it  will  be  allowed  to  go  to 
sleep  for  years,  until  some  official  person,  casually  hearing  of 
it,  or  perhaps  re-inventing  it,  shall  have  iniered  with  the 
higher  powers  to  get  it  quietly  adopted  as  his  own  invention. 
I  have  given,  in  a  former  page,  a  list  of  the  self-roistering 
apparatus  I  employed  in  my  own  experiments. 

In  studying  the  evidence  given  upon  the  inquiries  into  the 
various  lamentable  accidents  which  have  occurred  upon  rail- 
ways, I  have  been  much  struck  by  the  discordance  of  that 
evidence  as  to  the  speed  with  which  the  engines  were  travel- 
ling when  they  took  place. 

Even  the  best  and  most  unbiassed  judgment  ought  not  to 
be  trusted  when  mechanical  evidence  can  be  produced.  The 
first  rule  I  propose  is,  that — 

Every  engine  should  have  mechanical  ddf-regidering  meane 
of  recording  Us  own  velocity  at  every  instant  during  the  whole 
course  of  Us  journey. 

In  my  own  experiments  this  was  the  first  point  I  attended 
to.  I  took  a  powerful  spring  clock,  with  a  chronometer  move- 
ment, which  every  half  second  lifted  a  peculiar  pen,  and  left 


830  SELF-RECORDING  MEANS. 

a  small  dot  of  ink  upon  the  paper,  which  was  moving  oyer  a 
table  with  the  velocity  given  to  it  by  the  wheels  of  the  car- 
riage. 

Thus  the  comparative  frequency  of  these  dots  indicated  the 
rate  of  travelling  at  the  time.  But  the  instrument  was  sus- 
ceptible of  giving  different  scales  of  measurement.  Thus  it 
might  bo  that  only  three  inches  of  paper  passed  nnder  ibe 
pen  in  every  mile,  or  any  greater  length  of  paper,  up  to  sixty 
feet  per  mile,  might  be  ordered  to  pass  under  the  paper 
during  an  equal  space.  Again,  the  number  of  dots  per 
second  could,  if  required,  be  altered. 

The  clock  was  broken  four  or  five  times  during  the  earliest 
experiments.  This  arose  &om  its  being  fixed  upon  the  plat- 
form carrying  the  axles  of  the  wheela  I  then  conttived  a 
kind  of  parallel  motion,  by  which  I  was  enabled  to  support 
the  clock  upon  the  carriage-springs,  and  yet  allow  it  to  im- 
press its  dots  upon  the  paper,  which  did  not  require  that 
advantage.    After  this,  the  clock  was  never  injured. 

The  power  of  regulating  the  length  of  paper  for  each  mile 
was  of  great  importance ;  it  enabled  me  to  examine,  almost 
microscopically,  the  junctions  of  the  rails.  When  a  large 
scale  of  paper  was  allowed,  every  joining  was  marked  upon 
the  paper. 

I  find,  on  referring  to  my  paper  records,  that  on  the 
3rd  March,  1839,  the  "  Atlas  "  engine  drew  my  experimental 
carriage,  with  two  other  carriages  attached  behind  it^  from 
Maidenhead  to  Drayton,  with  its  paper  travelling  only  eleven 
feet  for  each  mile  of  journey  ;  whilst  from  Drayton  to  Slough, 
forty-four  feet  of  paper  passed  under  the  pen  during  each 
mile  of  progress. 

The  inking  pens  at  first  gave  me  some  trouble,  but  after 
successively  discovering  their  various  defects,  and  remedying 


THEIB  REMARKABLE  EFFECT.  331 

them  at  an  expense  of  nearly  £20,  they  performed  their 
work  satisfactorily.  The  information  they  gave  might  be 
fully  relied  upon. 

We  had  an  excellent  illustration  of  this  on  one  occasion 
when  we  were  returning,  late  in  the  evening,  from  Maiden- 
head, after  a  hard  day's  work.  The  pitchy  darkness  of  the 
night,  which  prevented  us  from  seeing  any  objects  external  to 
our  carriage,  was  strongly  contrasted  with  the  bright  light  of 
four  argand  lamps  within  it  I  was  accompanied  by  my 
eldest  son,  Mr.  Herschel  Babbage,  and  three  assistants.  A 
roll  of  paper  a  thousand  feet  in  length  was  slowly  unwinding 
itself  upon  the  long  table  extended  before  us,  and  winding 
itself  up  on  a  corresponding  roller  at  its  other  extremity. 
About  a  dozen  pens  connected  with  a  bridge  crossing  the 
middle  of  the  table  were  each  marking  its  own  independent 
curve  gradually  or  by  jumps,  as  the  circumstances  attending 
our  railway  course  was  dictating.  The  self-feeding  pens,  which 
the  self-acting  roller  of  blotting-paper  continually  followed,  but 
never  overtook,  were  quietly  marking  their  inevitable  courses. 
All  had  gone  on  well  for  a  considerable  time  amidst  perfect 
silence,  if  the  steady  pace  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  the  dogged 
automatic  action  of  the  material,  and  the  muteness  of  the 
living  machinery,  admitted  of  such  a  term.  Being  myself 
entirely  ignorant  of  our  position  upon  the  rail,  I  disturbed 
this  busy  repose  by  inquiring  whether  any  one  knew  where 
we  were  ?  To  this  question  there  was  no  reply.  Each  con- 
tinued to  watch  in  silence  for  the  duties  which  his  own  de- 
partment might  at  any  moment  require,  but  no  such  demands 
were  made. 

After  some  minutes,  as  I  was  watching  the  lengthening 
curves,  I  perceived  a  slight  indication  of  our  position  on  the 
railroad.     I  instantly  looked  at  my  son,  and  saw,  by  a  faint 


332  TRACTIVE  POWER  REGISTERED. 

smile  on  his  countenance,  that  he  also  perceived  our  situation 
on  the  line.  I  had  scarcely  glanced  back  at  the  growing 
curves  upon  the  paper,  to  confirm  my  interpretation,  when 
each  of  my  three  assistants  at  the  same  instant  called  out 
"  Thames  Junction." 

At  the  period  I  speak  of  the  double  line  of  a  small  railway, 
called  the  Thames  Junction,  crossed  the  Great  Western  line 
on  a  level  at  between  two  and  three  miles  from  its  terminus. 
The  interruption  caused  certain  jerks  in  several  of  our  curves, 
which,  having  once  noticed,  it  was  impossible  to  mistake. 

I  would  suggest  that  every  engine  should  carry  a  spring 
clock,  marking  small  equal  intervals  of  time  by  means  of  a 
needle-point  impinging  upon  paper,  the  speed  of  whose 
transit  should  be  regulated  by  the  speed  of  the  engine.  It 
might,  perhaps,  be  desirable  to  have  a  differently-formed 
mark  to  indicate  each  five  minutes.  Also,  two  or  more  studs 
on  the  driving-wheel  should  mark  upon  the  same  paper  the 
number  of  its  revolutions.  Besides  this,  it  might  be  im- 
perative on  the  engine-driver  to  mark  upon  the  paper  a  dot 
upon  passing  each  of  certain  prescribed  points  upon  the  rail- 
way. This  latter  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  but  may  oocar 
sionally  supply  very  valuable  information. 

The  second  point  which  I  consider  of  importance  is,  that — 
Between  every  engine  and  Us  train  there  should  he  interposed 
a  dynamometer i  that  is,  a  powerful  spring  to  measure  {he  force 
exerted  hy  the  engine. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected  that  this  would  require  a 
certain  amount  of  movement  between  the  engine  and  its 
train.  A  very  small  quantity  would  be  sufficient,  say  htAf 
an  inch,  or  less.  The  forces  in  action  are  so  very  large,  that 
even  a  still  smaller  amount  of  motion  than  this  might  be 
sufficiently  magnified.    Its  indications  should  be  marked  by 


CURVE  OP  PROGRESS  REGISTERED.  333 

self-acting  machinery  governing  points  impinging  upon  the 
paper  on  which  the  velocity  is  marked. 

Whenever  any  unusual  resistance  has  opposed  the  progress 
of  the  train,  it  will  thus  be  marked  upon  the  paper.  It  will 
indicate  in  some  measure  the  state  of  the  road,  and  it  will 
assuredly  furnish  valuable  information  in  case  an  accident 
happens,  and  the  train  or  the  engine  gets  off  the  rails. 

The  third  recommendation  I  have  to  make  is — 

That  the  curve  described  lyiheeentre  of  the  engine  itself  upon 
{heptane  of  (he  railway  should  he  laid  down  upon  (he  paper. 

Finding  this  a  very  important  element,  I  caused  a  plate  of 
hardened  steel  to  be  pressed  by  a  strong  spring  against  the  inner 
edge  of  the  rail.  It  was  supported  by  a  hinge  upon  a  strong 
piece  of  timber  descending  &om  the  platform  supporting  the 
carriage  itself.'  The  motion  of  this  piece  of  steel,  arising  from 
the  varying  position  of  tlie  wheels  themselves  upon  the  rail, 
was  conveyed  to  a  pen  which  transferred  to  the  paper  the 
curve  traversed  by  the  centre  of  the  carriage  referred  to  the 
plane  of  the  rail  itsel£ 

The  contrivance  and  management  of  this  portion  of  my 
apparatus  was  certainly  the  most  difficult  part  of  my  task, 
and  probably  the  most  dangerous.  I  had  several  friendly 
cautions,  but  I  knew  the  danger,  and  having  examined  its 
various  causes,  adopted  means  of  counteracting  its  effect 

After  a  few  trials  we  found  out  how  to  manage  it,  and 
although  it  often  broke  four  or  five  times  in  the  course  of 
the  day's  work,  the  fracture  inevitably  occurred  at  the  place 
intended  for  it»  and  my  first  notice  of  the  fact  often  arose 
from  the  blow  the  fragment  made  when  suddenly  drawn 
by  a  strong  rope  up  to  the  under  side  of  the  fioor  of  our 
experimental  carriage. 

I  have  a  very  strong  opinion  that  the  adoption  of  such 


334  GEORGE  STEPHENSON^  REAL  OPINION 

mechanical  registrations  would  add  greatly  to  the  security  of 
railway  travelling,  because  they  would  become  the  unerring 
record  of  facts,  the  incorruptible  witnesses  of  the  immediate 
antecedents  of  any  catastrophe. 

I  have,  however,  little  expectation  of  their  adoption,  unleas 
Directors  can  be  convinced  that  the  knowledge  derived  from 
them  would,  by  pointing  out  incipient  defects,  and  by  acting 
as  a  check  upon  the  vigilance  of  all  their  officers,  consideiv 
ably  diminish  the  repairs  and  working  expenses  both  of  the 
engine  and  of  the  rail  Nor  should  I  be  much  surprised  even 
if  they  were  pronounced  impracticable,  although  they  existed 
very  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

The  question  of  the  gauges  has  long  been  settled.  A  small 
portion  of  broad  gauge  exists,  but  it  is  probable  that  it  will 
ultimately  be  changed.  The  vast  expense  of  converting  the 
engines  ajid  the  rolling  stock  for  use  on  the  narrower  gauge 
presents  the  greatest  obstacle. 

It  may,  however,  be  interesting  to  learn  the  opinion  of 
the  father  of  railways  at  an  early  period  of  their  progress. 
I  have  already  mentioned  the  circumstances  under  which 
my  acquaintance  with  George  Stephenson  began.  They 
were  favourable  to  that  mutual  confidence  which  immediately 
arose.  I  was  naturally  anxious  to  ascertain  the  effect  of  the 
existing  experience  upon  his  own  mind,  but  I  waited  patiently 
until  a  favourable  opportunity  presented  itself. 

At  a  largo  public  dinner,  during  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  at  Newcastle,  I  sat  next  to  George  Stephenson. 
It  occurred  to  me  that  the  desired  opportunity  had  now 
arrived.  I  said  little  about  railways  until  after  the  first  glass 
of  champagne.  1  mentioned  several  that  I  had  travelled 
upon,  and  the  conclusions  I  had  drawn  relative  to  the 
mechanical  department     I  then  referred  to  the  economy  of 


ON  THK  QUESTION  OF  THE  GAUGES.  335 

management,  and  pointed  out  one  railway  in  which  the 
accounts  were  so  well  arranged,  that  I  had  been  able  to 
arrive  at  a  testing  point  of  an  opinion  I  had  formed  from 
my  own  observations. 

One  great  evil  of  the  narrow  gauge  was,  that  when  some 
trifling  derangement  in  the  engine  occurred,  which  might  be 
repaired  at  the  expense  of  two  or  three  shillings,  it  fre- 
quently became  necessary  to  remove  uninjured  portions  of 
the  machine,  in  order  to  get  at  the  fault ;  that  the  re-making 
the  joints  and  replacing  these  parts  thus  temporarily  removed, 
frequently  led  to  an  expense  of  several  pounds. 

The  second  glass  of  champagne  now  interrupted  a  conver- 
sation which  was,  I  hope,  equally  agreeable  to  both,  and  was 
certainly  very  instructive  for  me.  I  felt  that  the  fairest 
opportunity  I  could  desire  of  ascertaining  my  friend's  real 
opinion  of  the  gauge  had  now  arrived.  Avaib'ng  myself  of 
the  momentary  pause  after  Greorge  Stephenson's  glass  was 
empty,  I  said — 

*^  Now,  Mr.  Stephenson,  will  you  allow  me  to  ask  you  to 
suppose  for  an  instant  that  no  railways  whatever  existed,  and 
yet  that  you  were  in  full  possession  of  all  that  large  amount 
of  knowledge  which  you  have  derived  fh)m  your  own  ex- 
perience. Under  such  circumstances,  if  you  were  consulted 
respecting  the  gauge  of  a  system  of  railways  about  to  be 
inaugurated,  would  you  advise  the  gauge  of  4  feet  8^  inches?" 

*'  Not  exactly  that  gauge,"  replied  the  creator  of  railroads ; 
"  I  would  take  a  few  inches  more,  but  a  very  few." 

I  was  quite  satisfied  with  this  admission,  though  I  confess 
it  reminded  me  of  the  frail  fair  one  who,  when  reproached  by 
her  immaculate  friend  with  having  had  a  child — an  ecclesi- 
astical licence  not  being  first  obtained  —  urged,  as  an 
extenuating  circumstance,  that  it  was  a  very  small  one. 


336  RAILWAYS  OP  THE  FUTURE. 

In  this  age  of  invention,  it  is  difficult  to  predict  the  rail- 
roads of  the  future.  Already  it  has  been  suggested  to  give  up 
wheels  and  put  carriages  upon  sledges.  This  would  lower  the 
centre  of  gravity  considerably,  and  save  the  expense  of  wheels. 
On  the  other  hand,  every  carriage  must  have  an  apparatus  to 
clean  and  grease  the  rails,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  these 
latter  might  overbalance  the  economy  arising  from  abolishing 
wheels. 

Again,  short  and  much-frequented  railways  might  be 
formed  of  a  broad,  continuous  strap,  always  rolling  on.  At 
each  station  means  must  exist  for  taking  up  and  putting  down 
the  passengers  without  stopping  the  rolling  strap. 

The  exhaustion  of  air  in  a  continuous  tunnel  was  proposed 
many  years  ago  for  the  purpose  of  sucking  the  trains  along. 
This  has  recently  been  applied  with  success  to  the  transmis- 
sion of  parcels  and  letters. 

Possibly  in  the  next  International  Exhibition  a  light  railway 
might  be  employed  within  the  building.* 

1st.  A  quick  train  to  enable  visitors  to  get  rapidly  from 
end  to  end,  avoiding  the  crowd  and  saving  time,  say  at  the 
expense  of  a  penny. 

2nd.  A  very  slow  train  passing  along  the  most  attractive 
lino,  and  occasionally  stopping,  to  enable  persons  not  capable 
of  bearing  the  fatigue  of  pushing  on  foot  through  crowds. 

K  such  railways  were  considered  in  the  original  design  of 
the  building,  they  might  be  made  to  interfere  bnt  little  with 
the  general  public,  and  would  bring  in  a  considerable  revenue 
to  the  concern. 

•  A  gallery,  elevated  about  seven  feet,  in  the  centre  of  each  division  of 
the  new  National  Gallery,  might  be  used  either  for  a  light  railway,  or  for 
additional  means  of  seeing  the  pictures  on  the  walls. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

6TBEET    KUISANOES. 

Various  Classes  injured — Iiiatniinents  of  Torture — Encourai^ra  ;  Serranto, 
Beer-shops,  Children,  Ladies  of  elastic  virtue — Effects  on  the  Musical 
Profession — Retaliation — Police  themselves  disturbed — Invalids  dis- 
tracted— Horses  run  away — Children  run  over — A  Cab-stand  placed  in 
the  Author's  street  attracts  Organs — Mobs  shouting  out  his  Name—* 
Threats  to  Bum  his  House — Disturbed  in  the  middle  of  the  night  when 
very  ill — An  average  number  of  Persons  are  always  ill — Hence  always 
disturbed — ^Abusive  Placards — Great  Difficulty  of  getting  Convictions — 
Got  a  Case  for  the  Queen^s  Bench — Found  it  useless — A  Dead  Sell — 
Another  Illustration — ^Musicians  give  False  Name  and  Address — Get 
Warrant  for  Apprehension — Tliey  keep  out  of  the  way — Offenders  not 
yet  found  and  arrested  by  the  Police — Legitimate  Use  of  Highways — 
An  Old  Lawyer's  Letter  to  The  Time*  —  Proposed  Remedies;  Forbid 
entirely — Authorize  Police  to  seize  the  Instrument  and  take  it  to  the 
Station — ^An  Association  for  Prevention  of  Street  Music  propoeed. 

During  the  last  ten  years^  the  amount  of  street  music  has 
60  greatly  increased  that  it  has  now  become  a  positive 
nuisance  to  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
London.  It  robs  the  industrious  man  of  his  time ;  it  annoys 
the  musical  man  by  its  intolerable  badness ;  it  irritates  the 
invalid;  deprives  the  patient,  who  at  great  inconvenience 
has  visited  London  for  the  best  medical  advice,  of  that  repose 
which,  under  such  circumstances,  is  essential  for  his  recovery, 
and  it  destroys  the  time  and  the  energies  of  all  the  intellec- 
tual classes  of  society  by  its  continual  interruptions  of  their 
pursuits. 


338 


STREET  NUISANCES. 


Instruments  of  torture  permitted  hy  the  CrovemmerU  to  he  in 
daily  and  nightly  use  in  the  streets  of  London. 

Bagpipes. 

Accordions. 

Halfpenny  whistles. 

Tom-toms. 

Trumpets. 

Shouting  out  objects  for  sala 

Religious  canting. 

PsalmHsinging. 

I  have  very  frequently  been  disturbed  by  such  music  after 
eleven  and  even  after  twelve  o'clock  at  night  Upon  one 
occasion  a  brass  band  played,  with  but  few  and  short  inter- 
missions^  for  five  hours. 

Encowragers  of  Street  Musie. 


Organs. 

Brass  bands. 

Fiddles. 

Harps. 

Harpsichords. 

Hurdy-gurdies. 

The  human 

Flageolets 

voice  in 

Drums. 

various  forms. 

Tavern-keepers. 

Public-houses. 

Gin-shops. 

Beer-shops. 

Coffee-shops. 

Servants. 

Children. 

Visitors  from  the  country. 


Ladies  of  doubtM  virtue. 

Occasionally  titled  ladies ; 
but  these  are  almost  in- 
variably of  recent  eleva- 
vation,  and  deficient  in 
that  taste  which  their  sex 
usually  possess. 


The  habit  of  frequenting  public-houses,  and  the  amount  of 
intoxication,  is  much  augmented  by  these  means.  It  there- 
fore finds  support  from  the  whole  body  of  licensed  victuallen, 
and  from  all  those  who  are  interested,  as  the  proprietors  of 
public-houses. 

The  great  encouragers  of  street  music  belong  chiefly  to  the 
lower  classes  of  society.  Of  these,  the  frequenters  of  publio- 
houses  and  beer-shops  patronize  the  worst  and    the  moii 


STREET  NUISANCES.  839 

noisy  kinds  of  mnsio.  The  proprietors  of  sneh  establishments 
find  it  a  very  successful  means  of  attracting  customers. 
Music  is  kept  up  for  a  longer  time,  and  at  later  hours^  before 
the  public-house,  than  under  any  other  circumstances.  It 
not  unfrequently  gives  rise  to  a  dance  by  little  ragged 
urchins,  and  sometimes  by  half-intoxicated  men,  who  occa- 
sionally  accompany  the  noise  with  their  own  discordant  voices. 

Servants  and  children  are  great  admirers  of  street  music ; 
also  people  from  the  country,  who,  coming  up  to  town  for  a 
short  time,  often  encourage  it 

Another  class  who  are  great  supporters  of  street  music, 
consists  of  ladies  of  elastic  virtue  and  cosmopolitan  tendencies, 
to  whom  it  affords  a  decent  excuse  for  displaying  their 
fascinations  at  their  own  open  windows.  Most  ladies  resident 
in  London  are  aware  of  this  peculiarity,  but  occasionally 
some  few  to  whom  it  is  not  known  have  found  very  unpleasant 
inferences  drawn,  in  consequence  of  thus  gratifying  their 
musical  taste. 

Musical  Pebfobmebs. 

Mu9ieians.  Indrumenis. 

Italians  .  Organ& 

Germans  Brass  bands. 

Natives  of  India    •        .  Tom-toms. 

English  Brass  bands,  fiddles,  &c 

The  lowest  class  of  dubs  Bands  with  double  drum. 

The  most  numerous  of  these  classes,  the  organ-grinders,  are 
natives  of  Italy,  chiefly  from  the  mountainous  district, 
whoso  language  is  a  nule  paiois,  and  who  are  entirely  un- 
acquainted with  any  other.  It  is  said  that  there  are  above 
a  thousand  of  these  foreigners  usually  in  London  em- 
ployed in  tormenting  the  natives.     They  mostly  reside  in 

z2 


340  STREET  NUISANCES. 

the  neighbourhood  of  Saffron  Hill,  and  are,  of  course^  from 
their  ignorance  of  any  other  language  than  their  own,  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  their  padrones.  One  of  these,  a  most  perse- 
vering intruder  with  his  organ,  gave  me  a  false  address. 
Having  ascertained  the  real  address,  he  was  sought  for  by 
the  police  for  above  a  fortnight,  but  not  discovered.  His 
padrone  becoming  aware  of  his  being  "  wcmted,^*  sent  him  on  a 
country  circuit.  I  once  met,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Land*s 
End,  one  of  these  fellows  whom  I  had  frequently  sent  away 
from  my  own  street 

The  amount  of  interruption  from  street  music,  and  from  other 
occasional  noises,  varies  with  the  nature  and  the  habits  of  its 
victims.  Those  whose  minds  are  entirely  unoccupied  receive 
it  with  satisfaction,  as  filling  up  the  vacuum  of  time.  Those 
whose  thoughts  are  chiefly  occupied  with  frivolous  pursuits  or 
with  any  other  pursuits  requiring  but  little  attention  from  the 
reasoning  or  the  reflective  powers,  readily  attend  to  occasioiial 
street  music.  Those  who  possess  an  impaired  bodily  frame, 
and  whose  misery  might  be  alleviated  by  good  music  at  proper 
intervals,  are  absolutely  driven  to  distraction  by  the  vile  and 
discordant  music  of  the  streets  waking  them,  at  all  hours,  in 
the  midst  of  that  temporary  repose  so  necessary  for  confirmed 
invalids. 

By  professional  musicians  its  effects  are  most  severely 
felt.  It  interrupts  them  in  their  own  studies,  and  entirely 
destroys  the  value  of  the  instructions  they  are  giving  their 
domestic  pupils.  When  they  leave  their  own  house  to  give 
lessons  to  their  employers,  the  "  infernal "  organ  still  pursues 
them.  Their  Belgravian  employer  is  obh'ged,  at  every 
lesson,  to  bribe  the  itinerant  miscreant  to  desist — his  charge 
for  this  act  of  mercy  being  from  a  shilling  to  half-a-ciown 
for  each  lesson. 


STREET  NUISANCES.  341 

It  in,  however^  right  to  hint  to  the  members  of  the 
musical  profession,  that  their  immediate  neighbours  do  not 
quite  so  much  enjoy  even  the  most  exquisite  professional  music 
when  filtered  through  brick  walls,  or  transmitted  circuitously 
and  partially  through  open  windows  into  the  houses  of  their 
neighbours.  I  know  of  no  remedy  to  propose  for  the  benefit 
of  the  latter  class,  but  I  think  that  a  proper  self-respect  should 
induce  the  professional  musician  himself  to  close  his  windows, 
and  even  to  suffer  the  inconvenience  of  heat,  rather  than 
p^hnanently  annoy  his  neighbours. 

The  law  of  retaliation,  which  is  only  justified  when  other 
arguments  fail,  was  curiously  put  in  force  in  a  case  which  was 
brought  under  my  notice  a  few  years  ago.  An  artist  of  con- 
siderable eminence,  who  resided  in  the  west  end  of  London, 
had  for  many  a  year  pursued  his  own  undisturbed  and  undis- 
turbing  studies,  when  one  fine  morning  his  professional 
studies  were  interrupted  by  the  continuous  sound  of  music 
transmitted  through  the  wall  from  his  neighbour's  house. 

Finding  the  noise  continuous  and  his  interruption  complete, 
he  rang  for  his  servant,  and  putting  his  maul  into  the  man's 
hand  desired  him  to  continue  knocking  against  the  wall  from 
whence  the  disturbance  proceeded  until  he  returned  from  a 
walk  in  the  Park.  He  added  that  he  should  probably  be 
absent  for  an  hour,  and  that  if  any  person  called  and  wished 
to  see  him,  he  should  be  at  home  at  the  end  of  that  time. 

On  his  return  he  was  informed  that  the  new  tenant  of  the 
adjacent  house  had  called  during  his  absence,  and  that  on  being 
informed  of  the  hour  of  his  master's  return,  he  had  expressed 
his  intention  of  calling  again.  A  short  time  after  this  the  new 
tenant  of  the  adjacent  house  was  introduced.  He  apolo- 
gized for  this  visit  to  a  stranger,  but  said  that  during  the  last 
hour  he  had  been  annoyed  by  a  most  extraordinary  knocking 


342  STREET  NUISANCES. 

against  the  wall,  which  entirely  interrupted  his  professional 
pursuits. 

To  this  the  artist  replied  in  almost  precisely  the  same  words, 
that  during  the  previous  hour  he  had  been  annoyed  by  a  most 
extraordinary  and  unusual  sound  which  entirely  intermpted 
his  professional  pursuits.  After  some  discussion  it  was  settled 
that  the  piano  should  be  removed  to  the  opposite  wall, 
and  that  it  should  be  covered  with  a  stratum  of  blankets. 

This  arrangement  went  on  for  a  few  months;  but  the 
pupils  and  their  relatives  disapproving  of  a  dumb  piaDo 
gradually  left  the  professor,  who  found  it  desirable  to  give  up 
the  house  and  retire  to  a  more  music-tolerating  neighbourhood. 
In  this  case  the  evil  was  equal  on  both  sides,  and  it  was 
reasonable  that  the  new  comer  should  retire. 

In  my  own  case  it  has  often  been  suggested  to  me  to  retaliate ; 
and  as  many  of  my  interruptions  have  been  inienUonaly  that 
course  might  be  justifiable.  But  as  they  have  been  confined 
to  one  or  two  of  the  lowest  persons  in  the  neighbourhood,  I 
thought  it  not  right  to  disturb  my  more  respectable  neigh- 
bours. The  means  at  my  command  for  producing  the  most 
hideously  discordant  noises  are  ample,  having  a  considerable 
collection  of  shrill  organ  pipes,  with  appropriate  bellows,  and 
an  indefatigable  steam  engine  ever  ready  to  work  them  whilst 
I  might  be  "  taking  a  walk  in  the  Park."  I  hope  by  the 
timely  amendment  of  the  law  no  person  may  be  driven  to 
practise  what  it  refuses  to  prevent,  and  thus  test  the  laws  of 
the  country  by  the  reductio  ad  dbsurdum. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  misery  inflicted  upon  thousands 
of  persons,  and  the  absolute  pecuniary  penalty  imposed  upon 
multitudes  of  intellectual  workers  by  the  loss  of  their  time, 
destroyed  by  organ-grinders  and  other  similar  nuisances. 

I  have  witnessed  much  and  suflered  more;  many  oonunu- 


STREET  NUISANCES.  d43 

nicaiions  on  the  subject  have  reached  me,  and  I  fear  that  I 
may  appear  to  have  neglected  Beveral  of  them.  I  hope, 
however^  that  the  great  sacrifice  of  my  own  time,  which  has 
been  forced  upon  me  in  order  to  secure  the  remainder,  may 
be  accepted  as  my  excuse.  I  will  now  mention  some  few  of 
the  resulta 

Even  policemen  have  frequently  told  me  that  organs  area 
great  nuisance  to  them  personally.  A  large  number  of  the 
police  are  constantly  on  night  duty,  and  of  course  these  can 
only  get  their  sleep  during  the  day.  On  such  occasions  their 
rest  is  constantly  broken  by  the  nuisance  of  street  musia 

A  lady,  the  wife  of  an  oflScer  on  half-pay,  writes  to  me, 
stating  her  own  sad  case.  Her  husband,  suffering  under  a 
painfully  nervous  affection,  is  brought  up  to  London  for  the 
benefit  of  medical  advice.  Under  these  circumstances  a 
sensible  improvement  takes  place,  but  it  requires  time  and 
constant  attention  to  advance  the  cure.  In  order  to  profit  by 
the  eminent  skill  which  London  supplies,  the  lady  and  her 
husband,  at  considerable  sacrifice,  take  a  very  small  house  in  a 
very  quiet  little  square.  Unfortunately,  the  organ-grinders 
hud  possession  of  it,  and  no  entreaties  would  banish  them. 
The  irritation  produced  on  the  invalid  was  frightful,  and  I 
feel  it  some  relief  not  to  have  known  its  almost  inevitable 
termination. 

Various  accidents  occur  as  the  consequence  of  street  music. 
It  occ*asioually  happens  tliat  horses  are  frightened^  and  perhaps 
their  riders  thrown ;  that  carriages  are  run  away  with,  and 
their  occupiers  dreadfully  alarmed  and  possibly  even  bruised. 

The  following  casualties  were  reported,  about  three  years 
ago,  in  most  of  the  daily  newspapers : — 

•*  Shocking  Occurbknob.— -Six  Children  Run  Ovkb  and  Mutilatbd. 
—Yesterday  aftcmoon,  shortly  after  four  o*clock,  a  Qerman  baxkd,  whilst 


M4  STREET  XUISAXCEa 

peHbnniDg  in  the  Old  St.  PiuicrH  Bottd,  was  the  craae  of  a  most  dreadfiil 
sccident.  At  the  time  mentkncd,  the  bsiid  lefened  to  was  playing  mt  the 
coroer  of  Akienbam  Temce,  when  a  man  named  Charles  Field  was  driving 
one  of  Atcheriey's  (the  horse-sIaaghteRT^s)  carts  down  Aldenham  Street. 
At  the  end  of  Aldenham  Street  there  b  a  great  dediritT  into  the  St.  Fancias 
Read,  an«i  just  as  the  cart  was  turning  it,  laden  with  a  dead  horse,  the  hig 
drum  wu  hcaten  with  extraordinarr  riolence.  A  cart  was  standing  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road,  to  aroid  which  a  short  tnin  on  the  pari  of  the 
driver  of  AtcherW's  cart  was  neoesBarj.  The  sodden  heating  of  the  dmm 
caused  the  horse  to  take  firi^t,  and  the  driver  being  pitched  head  foremost 
from  his  seat,  caused  him  to  lose  control  over  the  animal  he  was  driTing, 
which  dashed  in  amongst  the  children  and  others  who  were  standing  in  the 
road  listening  to  the  music,  knocking  them  down  right  and  leii.  When 
the  constematioQ  created  by  the  oocuneDce  had  subsided,  no  leas  than  six 
poor  children  were  found  lying  on  the  ground  in  a  helpless  condition,  the 
Tchicle  having  passed  over  some  part  of  their  persons.  They  were  conveyed 
as  &st  as  poasibte  into  the  adjacent  surgery  of  Dr.  Sutherin,  of  28,  Alden- 
ham Terrace,  who,  with  his  assistant,  promptly  attended  upon  them. 

**  William  UilL,  a^  nine  years,  of  ^  Stanmoie  Street,  who  had  sus- 
tained fractured  ribs  and  other  injuries ;  and 

"  Charles  Harwood,  a^  eleven  years,  of  4,  Garendon  Square,  with  firao- 
ture  of  the  lett  arm  and  groin,  as  well  as  right  1^,  caused  by  the  vehide 
passing  over  them,  were  removed,  by  direction  of  Dr.  Sutherin,  to  University 
College  Hospital. 

**  The  other  sufferers  are  Robert  Thwaites,  of  2,  St.  Pancns  Square,  aged 
seven  years^  injury  to  leg  and  one  of  his  feet ; 

"  James  Gunn,  34,  Stanmore  Street,  crushed  toes ; 

**  William  Young,  8,  Percy  Terrace,  aged  six  years,  ocmtnsioQ  to  head  and 
face;  and 

**  A  child,  name  unknown,  considerably  injured. 

"  The  persons  who  witnessed  the  occurreDoe  do  not  attribute  any  blame 
to  the  driver ;  but  as  soon  as  it  took  place  the  German  band  were  off  with 
as  Uttle  deUy  as  possible."— />a*7y  Telegrupk^  Oct.  S,  1861. 

If  this  sad  accident  had  fortunately  happened  in  Belgrayia, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  law  would  have  been 
altered,  in  order  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  frightful 
misery. 

No  attempt,  howeyer,  has  yet  been  made  to  remove  the 
cause ;  and  I  have  myself  more  recently  seen  a  Grerman  farasB 
band  playing  in  a  very  narrow,  crowded  street,  doee  to  the 


STREET  NUISANCES.  845 

Bank  of  England^  at  three  o'clock  m  the  afternoon^  making 
it  difficult  to  pass,  as  well  as  dangerous  to  one's  pocket. 

On  another  occasion,  at  two  o'clock,  a  German  band  was 
playing  in  Piccadilly,  at  that  crowded  part,  the  Circus.  In 
both  instances  the  police  were  looking  on,  and  seemed  to  enjoy 
the  music  they  were  not  directed  to  stop. 

I  have  obtained,  in  my  oum  country,  an  unenviable  cele- 
brity, not  by  anything  I  have  done,  but  simply  by  a  deter- 
mined resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  the  lowest  mob,  whose 
love,  not  of  music,  but  of  the  most  discordant  noises,  is  so 
great  that  it  insists  upon  enjoying  it  at  all  hours  and  in  every 
street.  It  may  therefore  be  expected  that  I  should  in  this 
volume  state  at  least  the  outline  of  my  own  case. 

I  claim  no  merit  for  this  resistance ;  although  I  am  qm'te 
aware  that  I  am  fighting  the  battle  of  every  one  of  my 
countrymen  who  gains  his  subsistence  by  his  intellectual 
labour.  The  simple  reason  for  the  course  I  have  taken  is, 
that  however  disagreeable  it  has  been,  it  would  have  been 
still  more  painful  to  have  given  up  a  great  and  cherished 
object,  already  fully  within  my  reach.  I  have  been  com* 
pelled  individually  to  resist  this  tyranny  of  the  lowest  mob, 
because  the  Government  itself  is  notoriously  afraid  to  face  it. 

On  a  careful  retrospect  of  the  last  dozen  years  of  my  life, 
I  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  I  speak  within  limit 
when  I  state  that  one-fourth  part  of  my  working  power  has 
been  destroyed  by  the  nuisance  against  which  I  have  pro- 
tested. Twenty-five  per  cent  is  rather  too  large  an  additional 
income-tax  upon  the  brain  of  the  intellectual  workers  of  this 
country,  to  be  levied  by  permission  of  the  Government,  and 
squandered  upon  its  most  worthless  classes. 

The  effect  of  a  uniform  and  continuous  sound,  in  distracting 
tlie  attention  or  in  disturbing  intellectual  pursuits,  is  almost 


346  STREET  NUISANCES. 

insensible.  Those  who  reside  near  a  waterfall— even  Niagara 
— ^have  their  organs  soon  seasoned  and  adapted  to  its  mono- 
tony. It  is  the  change  from  quietness  to  noisey  or  from  one 
kind  of  noise  to  another,  which  instantly  distracts  the  atten- 
tion. It  wonld  be  equally  distracted  by  the  reverse — ^by  the 
sudden  change  from  the  hum  of  the  busy  world  to  the  still- 
ness of  the  desert. 

The  injurious  efifect  of  noisy  interruptions  upon  our  atten- 
tion also  varies  with  the  nature  of  the  investigations  upon 
which  we  are  engaged.  K  they  are  of  a  kind  requiring  but  a 
very  small  amount  of  intellectual  effort,  as,  for  instance,  the 
routine  of  a  public  office,  they  will  be  little  felt  I^  on  the 
other  hand,  those  subjects  are  of  such  a  character  as  to  require 
the  highest  efforts  of  the  thinker,  then  their  examination  is 
interrupted  by  the  sb'ghtest  change  in  the  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances. 

When  the  work  to  be  done  is  proportioned  to  the  powers 
of  the  mind  engaged  upon  it,  the  painful  effect  of  interruption 
is  felt  as  deeply  by  the  least  intellectual  as  by  the  most  highly 
gifted.  The  condition  which  determines  the  maximum  of 
interruption  is, — that  the  mind  disturbed,  however  moderate 
its  powers,  shall  be  working  up  to  its  ftill  stretch. 

Finding,  many  years  ago,  the  increasing  interruption  of  my 
pursuits  from  street  music,  as  it  is  now  tolerated,  I  deter- 
mined to  endeavour  to  get  rid  of  it  by  putting  in  force  our 
imperfect  law,  as  far  it  goes.  I  soon  found  how  very  imper- 
fect it  is. 

The  first  step  is  to  require  the  performer  to  desist,  and  to 
assign  illness  or  other  sufficient  reason  for  the  request.  If 
a  female  servant  is  sent  on  this  mission  it  is  quite  useless. 
The  organ-player  is  scarcely  ever  acquainted  with  more  than 
four  or  five  words  of  our  language :  but  these  always  the  most 


STREET  NX7ISANGES.  347 

TulgaTy  the  most  offensiye,  and  the  most  insnltmg.  If  a  man- 
servant is  senty  the  Italians  are  often  very  insolent^  and  eon 
stantly  refuse  to  depart  But  there  are  multitudes  of  sufferers 
who  are  ill  and  are  in  lodgings,  and  have  no  servant  to  send. 
Besides,  the  servants  must  occasionally  be  absent^  being  sent 
by  their  employers  on  their  various  duties. 

The  principle  on  which  I  proposed  to  act  is,  whenever  it 
can  be  fully  carried  out,  usually  very  effective.  It  was  simply 
this — ^to  make  it  more  unprofitable  to  the  offender  to  do  the 
wrong  than  the  right 

Whenever,  therefore,  an  itinerant  musician  disturbed  me, 
I  immediately  sent  out,  or  went  out  myself^  to  warn  him  away. 
At  first  this  was  not  successful ;  but  after  summoning  and 
convicting  a  few,  they  found  out  that  their  precious  time  was 
wasted,  and  most  of  them  deserted  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood. This  would  have  succeeded  had  the  offenders  been 
few  in  number ;  but  their  name  is  legion :  upwards  of  a  thou- 
sand being  constantly  in  London,  besides  those  on  their  circuit 
in  the  provinces. 

It  was  not,  however,  the  interest  of  those  who  deserted  my 
station  to  inform  their  countrymen  of  its  barrenness ;  conse- 
quently, the  freshly-imported  had  each  to  gain  his  own  ex- 
perience at  the  expense  of  his  own  and  of  my  time.  Perhaps 
I  might  have  succeeded  at  last  in  banishing  the  Italian  nui- 
sance from  the  neighbourhood  of  my  residence ;  but  various 
other  native  professors  of  the  art  of  tormenting  with  discords 
increased  as  the  licence  of  these  Italian  itinerants  was  en- 
couraged. Another  evenly  however,  occurred,  which  added 
much  more  seriously  to  my  diflSculty. 

Many  years  before  I  had  purchased  a  house  in  a  very  quiet 
locality,  with  an  extensive  plot  of  ground,  on  part  of  which 
I  liad  erected  workshops  and  offices,  in  which  I  might  carry 


348  STREET  NUISANCES. 

on  the  experiments  and  make  the  drawings  necessary  for  the 
construction  of  the  Analytical  Engine.  Several  years  ago  the 
quiet  street  in  which  I  resided  was  invaded  by  a  hackney- 
coach  stand.  I,  in  common  with  most  of  the  inhabitants,  re- 
monstrated and  protested  against  this  invasion  of  our  comfort 
and  this  destruction  of  the  value  of  our  property.  Our 
remonstrance  was  ineffectual :  the  hackney-coach  stand  was 
established. 

The  immediate  consequence  was  obvious.  The  most  re- 
spectable tradesmen,  with  some  of  whom  I  had  decdt  for 
five-and-twenty  years,  saw  the  ruin  which  was  approaching, 
and,  wisely  making  a  first  sacrifice,  at  once  left  their  deterio- 
rated property  as  soon  as  they  could  find  for  it  a  purchaser. 
The  neighbourhood  became  changed :  coffee-shops,  beer-shope, 
and  lodging-houses  filled  the  adjacent  small  streeta  The 
character  of  the  new  population  may  be  inferred  from  the 
taste  they  exhibit  for  the  noisiest  and  most  discordant  music 

I  have  looked  in  vain  for  any  public  advantage  to  justify 
this  heavy  injury  to  private  property.  It  will  scarcely  be 
believed  that  another  hackney-coach  stand  actually  exists 
within  two  hundred  yards,*  namely,  that  in  Paddington 
Street,  which  has  a  very  large  space  unoccupied  by  any 
houses  on  either  side  of  the  street^  and  which  had  frequently 
cabs  on  it  plying  for  hire  during  the  whole  night. 

In  endeavouring  to  put  in  force  the  existing  law,  imperfect 
as  it  is,  I  have  met  with  sundry  small  inconveniences  which 
a  Cabinet  Minister  might  perhaps  think  trivial,  but  which,  in 
a  slight  degree,  try  the  temper  even  of  a  philospher. 

*  The  distance  of  the  most  eastern  cab  on  the  stand  in  Dorset  Street 
from  the  spot  in  Paddington  Street,  on  which  cabs  might  stand  without  being 
opposite  any  houses,  is  in  reality  less  than  140  yards.  I  am  not  aware  of 
aoy  two  cab-stands  placed  so  near  each  other  as  those  in  qnestioD. 


STREET  NUISANCES.  349 

Some  of  my  neighbours  have  derived  great  pleasure  from 
inviting  musicians,  of  various  tastes  and  countries,  to  play 
before  my  windows,  probably  with  the  pacific  view  of  ascer- 
taining whether  there  are  not  some  kinds  of  instruments 
which  we  might  both  approve.  This  has  repeatedly  failed, 
even  with  the  accompaniment  of  the  human  voice  divine, 
from  the  lips  of  little  shoeless  children,  urged  on  by  their 
ragged  parents  to  join  in  a  chorus  rather  disrespectful  to  their 
philosophic  neighbour. 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  performer,  excited  by  such  applause, 
has  occasionally  permitted  him  to  dwell  too  long  upon  the 
already  forbidden  notes,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to  find  a 
policeman  to  ascertain  the  residence  of  the  offender.  In  the 
meantime  the  crowd  of  young  children,  urged  on  by  their 
parents,  and  backed  at  a  judicious  distance  by  a  set  of  vaga- 
bonds, forms  quite  a  noisy  mob,  following  me  as  I  pass  along, 
and  shouting  out  rather  uncomplimentary  epithets.  When  I 
turn  round  and  survey  my  illustrious  tail,  it  stops  ;  if  I  move 
towards  it,  it  recedes :  the  elder  branches  are  then  quiet — 
sometimes  they  even  retire,  wishing  perhaps  to  avoid  my 
future  recognition.  The  instant  I  turn,  the  shouting  and  the 
abuse  are  resumed,  and  the  mob  again  follow  at  a  respectful 
distance.  Tlie  usual  result  is  that  the  deluded  musicians  find 
themselves  left  in  the  lurch  at  the  police-court  by  their  en- 
thusiastic encouragers,  and  have  to  pay  a  heavier  fine  for 
having  contributed  to  collect  this  unruly  and  ungenerous 
mob. 

Such  occurrences  have  unfortunately  been  by  no  means 
rare.  In  one  case  there  were  certainly  above  a  hundred 
persons,  consisting  of  men,  women,  and  boys,  with  multitudes 
of  young  children,  who  followed  me  through  the  streets  before 
I  could  find  a  policeman.    To  such  an  extent  has  this  annoy- 


350  STREET  NUISANCES. 

ance  of  Bhouting  out  my  name^  without  or  with  insulting 
epithets,  been  carried,  that  I  can  truly  affirm,  unless  I  am 
detained  at  home  by  illness,  no  week  ever  passes  without 
many  instances  of  it. 

The  police  tell  me  that  the  children,  "  who  are  put  up  to 
the  trick  by  their  parents,"  belong  chiefly  to  several  ragged- 
schools  in  my  neighbourhood.  I  have  myself  repeatedly 
traced  numbers  of  them  into  the  Portman  Chapel  School, 
in  East  Street.  In  one  instance  1  went  into  that  school  and 
made  a  formal  complaint  to  the  teacher,  who  expressed  great 
regret  for  it,  and  requested  me,  if  I  could  see  any  of  the 
ofienders,  to  point  them  out;  but  amongst  the  number  of 
children  then  present  I  was  unable  to  identify  the  offenders. 

The  insults  arising  from  boys,  set  on  by  their  parents,  and 
from  other  older,  and  therefore  less  pardonable  offenders, 
shouting  out  my  name  under  my  windows,  or  as  I  pass  along 
the  streets,  and  even  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  are  of  almost 
constant  occurrence.  Of  course,  I  always  appear  to  take 
no  notice  of  such  circumstances.  Only  a  few  days  ago,  whilst 
I  was  engaged  upon  the  present  chapter,  I  had  occasion  to 
pass  down  Manchester  Street :  when  I  was  about  half  way 
down,  I  heard  from  that  end  of  the  street  I  had  left>  loud  and 
repeated  cries  of  "  Stop  thief."  I  naturally  turned  round, 
when  I  saw  two  yoimg  fellows  at  the  comer,  who  repeated 
the  cry  twice,  as  loudly  as  they  could,  and  then  ran,  as  hard 
as  they  were  able,  round  the  comer  out  of  my  sight.  There 
could  be  no  mistake  that  this  was  intended  to  annoy  me, 
because  it  happened  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  person 
except  myself  in  the  upper  part  of  the  street 

Another  source  of  annoyance,  fortunately  only  of  a  very 
limited  amount,  arises  from  a  i^orverse  disposition  of  some  of 
my  neighbours,  who,  in  two  or  three  instances,  have  gone  to 


STREET  NUISANCES.  361 

tho  expenso  of  purchasing  worn-out  or  damaged  wind  instru- 
ments, which  they  are  incapable  of  playing,  but  on  which 
they  produced  a  discordant  noise  for  the  purpose  of  annoying 
me.  One  of  these  appearing  at  the  police-court  as  a  witness 
for  an  organ-grinder,  was  questioned  by  tho  magistrate,  and 
informed  that  he  would  render  himself  liable  to  an  indictment 
by  the  continuance  of  such  conduct.  Another  foolish  young 
fellow  purchased  a  wind  instrument  with  a  hole  in  it,  with 
which  he  made  discordant  noises  purposely  to  annoy  me. 
Travelling  in  a  third-class  carriage  to  Deptford,  he  described, 
with  great  zest  to  the  person  sitting  opposite  to  him,  the 
instrument,  its  price,  and  the  use  he  made  of  it  The  listener 
to  this  confidence  was  one  of  the  best  of  my  own  draughts- 
men, who  was  quite  as  much  disturbed  by  the  street  music 
as  myself.  Tho  police  were  made  acquainted  with  the  fact, 
and  I  beliovo  still  have,  from  time  to  time,  their  eyes  upon  the 
young  vagabond. 

Another  wilful  disturber  of  my  quiet,  was  a  workman 
inhabiting  an  attic  in  a  street  which  overlooked  my  garden. 
When  he  returned  daily  to  his  dinner,  this  fellow,  possessing 
a  penny  tin  whistle,  opened  his  window,  and  leaning  out  of  it, 
blew  his  shrill  instrument  in  the  direction  of  my  garden  for 
about  half-an-hour.  I  simply  noted  the  fact  in  a  memo- 
randum book,  and  then  employed  the  time  he  thought  he  was 
destroying,  in  taking  my  daily  exercise,  or  in  any  other  out- 
door mission  my  pursuits  required.  After  a  perseverance  in 
tliis  course  during  many  months,  he  discontinued  the  annoy- 
ance, but  for  what  reason  I  never  knew. 

At  an  early  period  when  I  was  putting  the  law  in  force,  as 
Car  as  I  could,  for  the  prevention  of  this  destruction  of  my 
time,  I  received  constantly  anonymous  letters,  advising, 
and  even  threatening  me  with  all  sorts  of  evils,  such  as 


352  STREET  NinSANCES. 

destruction  of  my  property,  burning  my  house,  injury  to  my- 
self. I  was  very  often  addressed  in  the  streets  with  similar 
threats.  On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  returning  home  from 
an  affair  with  a  mob  whom  the  police  had  just  dispersed,  I 
met,  close  to  my  own  door,  a  man,  who,  addressing  me,  said, 
"  You  deserve  to  have  your  house  burnt,  and  yourself  in  it, 
"  and  I  will  do  it  for  you,  you  old  villain."  I  asked  him  if  he 
had  any  objection  to  give  me  his  address.  Of  course  he 
refused.  I  then  followed  him  at  a  short  distance,  looking  out 
for  a  policeman.  Whenever  he  saw  one  at  a  distance  he  turned 
rapidly  up  the  next  street ;  this  chase  continued  above  half- 
an-hour ;  he  was  then  joined  by  a  companion,  an  ill-looking 
fellow.  They  still  continued  to  turn  off  into  another  street 
whenever  a  constable  became  visible  in  the  distance.  At  last 
we  saw  a  great  crowd,  into  which  they  both  rushed,  and 
further  pursuit  became  impossible. 

I  will  not  describe  the  smaller  evils  of  dead  cats,  and  other 
offensive  materials,  thrown  down  my  area ;  of  windows  from 
time  to  time  purposely  broken,  or  from  occasional  blows  from 
stones  projected  by  unseen  hands. 

The  last  annoyance  I  shall  mention,  occurred  in  the  month 
of  December  of  the  past  year.  I  had  been  suffering  consider- 
ably from  ill-health,  and  it  became  necessary  that  I  should 
undergo  a  painful  surgical  operation.  Late  in  the  night  of 
that  day,  I  got  into  a  refreshing  sleep,  when  at  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning  I  was  suddenly  awakened  by  the  crash  of  a  brass 
band,  which  continued  playing  whilst  I  was  unable  to  move, 
and  was  comj)elled  passively  to  submit  to  the  tormentors. 

By  a  most  singular  accident,  many  weeks  after,  I  became 
possessed  of  evidence,  that  the  musicians  held  a  consultation 
in  Manchester  Square  about  going  to  the  top  of  the  street  to 
wake  me  up.    I  am  glad,  however,  to  add,  for  the  credit  of 


STREET  NUISANCES.  853 

human  nature,  that  one  of  the  party  advised  them  not  to  do 
it,  and  that  he  himself  immediately  left  them. 

It  has  been  found,  upon  undoubted  authority,  by  returns 
from  benefit  societies,  that  in  London,  about  4*72  persons  per 
cent  are  constantly  ill.  This  approximation  may  be  JBiirly 
assumed  as  the  nearest  yet  attained  for  the  population  of 
London.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  about  forty-seven  out  of 
every  thousand  inhabitants  are  always  ill.  The  number  of 
persons  per  house  varies  in  different  parts.  In  my  own  dis- 
trict it  averages  ten  to  each  house ;  in  a  neighbouring  district 
the  average  is  thirteen  per  house. 

In  IVIanchester  Street,  which  faces  my  own  residence,  there 
are  fifty-six  houses.  This,  allowing  the  above  average  of  ill- 
health,  will  show  that  about  twenty-six  persons  are  usually 
ill  in  that  street  Now  the  annoyance  from  street  music  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  performers  in  the  street  in  which 
a  house  is  situated.  In  my  own  case,  there  are  portions  of  five 
other  streets  in  which  street  music  constantly  interrupts  me 
in  my  pursuits.  If  the  portions  of  these  five  streets  are  con- 
sidered to  be  only  equal  in  population  to  that  of  Manchester 
Street,  it  will  appear  that  upwards  of  fifty  people  who  are  ill, 
are  constantly  disturbed  by  the  same  noises  which  so  fre- 
quently interrupt  my  own  pursuits. 

The  misery  inflicted  upon  those  who  are  really  ill  is  fiEu* 
greater  than  that  which  arises  from  the  mere  destruction  of 
time,  however  valuable.  A  friend  of  mine,  himself  an  excel- 
lent magistrate,  suffering  under  a  severe  and  fatal  complaint, 
was  almost  driven  to  distraction  during  the  last  six  months  of 
his  painful  existence,  by  the  constant  occurrence  of  the  organ 
nuisance,  which  he  was  entirely  unable  to  stop. 

I  have  at  times  made  attempts  to  register  the  number  of 
Kueh  interruptions  in  my  piuiiuitfl ;  but  these  have  been  very 

2  A 


354  STREET  NUISANCES. 

partial  and  iini>crfdet  I  find  by  some  notes,  that  doring  abont 
eighty  days,  I  registered  one  hundred  and  sizty-five  instances, 
the  greater  part  of  which  I  went  out  myself  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  nuisance.  In  several  of  these  cases  my  whole  day's  watk 
was  destroyed,  for  they  frequently  occurred  at  times  when  I 
was  giving  instruction  to  my  workmen  relative  to  some  of  the 
most  difficult  parts  of  the  Analytical  Engine. 

At  one  period  after  I  had  succeeded  in  getting  two  or 
three  convictions,  some  of  my  neighbours  put  themselves  to 
the  expense  of  having  large  placards  printed,  in  which  they 
abused  me  for  having  put  the  law  in  force  against  the  de- 
stroyers of  my  time.  These  placainls  they  stuck  up  in  the 
windows  of  their  little  shops,  at  intervals  fromEdgware  Boad 
to  Tottenham  Court  Koad.  Some  of  them  attempted  verse 
and  thought  it  {)octry ;  though  tlie  only  part  really  imagina- 
tive was  their  prose  statements. 

Unfoiluimtel y  for  my  comfort,  a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  X ^ 

one  of  the  magistrates  of  Hilarylebone  Office,  was  succeeded 

by  Mr.  Y .    Now  the  taste  of  the  new  magistrate,  like 

that  of  his  predecessor,  was  favourable  to  the  Italian  organ : 
his  predecessor  miglit,  however,  have  been  excused,  as  he 

was  deaf.     Possibly  3Ir.  Y thinks  that  all  Italian  music 

is  high  art,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  encouraged. 

I  soon  discovered  that  it  was  useless  to  bring  any  musical 
offender  before  him,  and  I  had  for  some  time  to  endure  the 
most  intolerable  interruption  of  my  pursuits. 

Upon  one  occasion,  when  I  had  summoned  an  organ-grinder 
before  him,  his  decision  was,  in  my  opinion,  so  unsatisfac- 
tory, that  I  determined  to  address  to  the  Home  Secretary  a 
remonstrance  against  it. 

The  case  was  heard  by  Mr.  Y about  the  middle  of 

July.     My  letter  to  Sir  George  Groy,  accompanied  by  a  series 


STREET  NUISANCES.  365 

of  the  placards,  was  sent  to  the  Home  Office  abont  the  middle 
of  August.  I  waited  patiently  for  a  reply,  but,  receiving  none, 
I  took  it  for  granted  that  my  letter  coald  not  have  reached 
the  Home  Secretary.  At  last,  on  the  17th  of  December,  I 
wrote  to  his  private  secretary,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  fact : 
the  reply  to  my  note  was — the  simple  admission  that  the  letter 
had  been  received.  I  confess  that  this  event  baffled  all  my 
calculations.  I  had  observed  that  high  officials,  distinguished 
by  their  intellectual  powers,  were  occasionally  oblivious  upon 
minor  points ;  but  that  iiigh  officials  distinguished  only  by 
the  office  they  held  were  usually  most  rigidly  courteous  and 
exact. 

After  this  I  abstained  for  a  long  time  lErom  bringing  any 

case  before  Mr.  Y .    At  last  a  case  occurred,  which  it 

appeared  to  me  could  not  be  resisted.  I  brought  it  before 
that  magistrate ;  it  was  heard,  and  the  chai^ge  was  dismissed. 
Believing  the  decision  to  be  erroneous  in  law,  I  consulted  a 
solicitor  who  had  much  experience  in  the  Metropolitan  Police 
Courts,  with  the  view  of  getting  the  opinion  of  the  Court  of 
Queen's  Bench  upon  the  subject 

My  legal  adviser  had  no  doubt  that  the  decision  would  be 
favourable,  but  urged  upon  me  the  great  expense,  and 
advised  me  not  to  proceed.  On  inquiry  as  to  the  probable 
amount,  he  suggested  that  it  might  reach  fifty  pounds.  I 
immediately  replied  that  it  would  be  good  economy  to  pur- 
chase my  own  time  at  that  expense,  and  I  desired  him  to  take 
the  necessary  steps. 

The  first  was  to  get  some  housekeeper  to  enter  with  me 
into  a  bond  for  twenty  pounds  to  pay  the  magistrate's  costs, 
in  case  I  failed.  Having  wasted  some  time  upon  this,  the 
magistrate  granted  a  case  for  the  Queen's  Bench,  a  copy  of 
which  my  solicitor  immediately  sent  me. 

2a2 


356  STREET  NUISANCES. 

The  grounds  of  Mr.  Y 's  decision,  were — 

1st.  That  the  man  was  not  legally  in  custody. 

2nd.  That  he  was  not  within  reasonable  distance  of  my 
house. 

3rd.  That  he  did  not  understand  the  English  language. 

On  receiving  this,  I  felt  quite  relieved,  and  thought  that  a 
clear  decision  upon  these  three  points  would  be  very  cheaply 
purchased  by  an  expenditure  of  fifty  pounds. 

However,  on  mentioning  the  subject  to  several  of  my  per- 
sonal friends,  who  were  themselves  high  in  the  profession  of 
the  law,  I  w£is  destined  to  be  grievously  disappointed.  I  was 
informed  that  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench  would  not  decide 
upon  any  one  of  the  questions,  but  would  decide  generally 
that  the  magistrate's  decision  was  right  or  was  wrong,  without 
giving  me  the  least  intimation  on  which  of  the  grounds  it  rested. 

I  now  perceived  the  dodge  tliat  had  been  practised  upon  me, 

and  I  felt  compelled  to  admit  that  Mr.  Y was  a  clever 

fellow.  A  regard  for  truth,  however,  forbids  me  to  extend 
the  application  of  this  observation  to  anybody  else  concerned 
in  this  matter. 

I  have  spared  neither  expense  nor  personal  trouble  in  en- 
deavouring to  put  a  stop  to  this  nuisance.  During  one  twelve- 
month those  expenses  amounted,  within  a  few  shillings,  to 
one  hundred  and  four  pounds.  I  was  not,  however,  the  onlv 
sufferer ;  that  amount  would  otherwise  have  been  expended 
in  giving  a  year's  employment  to  a  skilled  workman,  whoae 
wages  ai*e  about  two  i)ounds  a  week. 

1  shall  now  give  one  illustmtion  from  my  own  experience 
of  the  utterly  imperfect  state  of  the  law  for  suppressing  the 
nuisance  of  street  music  : — 

On  Monday,  the  29th  of  February,  in  the  present  year,  at 
3  P.M.,  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  fog,  a  brass  band  struck  up 


STllEKT  NUISANCES.  357 

dose  under  uiy  windows*  I  was  in  ill-health,  and  engaged  in 
a  subject  requiring  much  attention.  I  knocked  at  the  win- 
dow; but  the  band  continued  their  performance.  Then  1 
opened  the  window  and  desired  them  to  desist ;  they  still  con- 
tinued, and  I  then  sent  my  servant  to  desire  them  to  go  away. 
Having  finished  their  tune,  they  removed  about  five  doors 
from  my  residence,  and  commenced  another  performance. 
Sly  patience  being  exhausted,  I  then  went  out  myself  to 
desire  my  tormentors  to  depart.  My  servant  went  on  to  the 
station  before  he  could  get  a  constable.  In  the  meantime 
the  band  had  removed  about  six  doors  further,  and  began 
another  tune.  At  last  my  servant  arrived  with  a  policeman, 
who  took  down  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  nine  musicians 
constituting  the  band. 

The  next  day  I  i>aid  twenty-seven  shillings  for  summonses. 
The  day  after,  the  police  informed  me  that  all  the  addresses 
given,  which  were  either  in  Richmond  or  Brentford,  were  false. 
I  applied  to  the  police,  who  watched  at  certain  liaunts ;  but 
they  only  succeeded  in  identifying  two  of  them.  I  then 
obtained  warrants  to  apprehend  those  two,  and  came  up 
from  the  country  expressly  to  attend  at  the  police-court ;  but 
the  men  were  not  to  be  found.  I  am  still  waiting  in  the  ho{)e 
tliat  our  police  is  not  quite  so  inefficient  as  to  allow  them  to 
escape.  I  have  already  been  put  to  the  charge  of  employing 
a  solicitor  and  to  other  expenses.  But  the  band  itself  is,  I 
believe,  still  going  about  in  London  and  playing  every  day. 

Now,  if  it  had  been  legal  for  the  police  to  have  taken 
possession  of  the  instruments  of  those  disturbers  of  the  public 
peace,  a  false  address  would  have  been  useless,  for  it  would 
have  been  cheaper  to  have  paid  the  penalties  than  to  have 
lost  their  instruments. 

It  is,  I  presume,  admitted  that  streets  and  high  roads  are  not 


358  STREET  NUISANCES. 

the  property  of  those  who  use  them.     They  are  the  Queen's 
highways,  and  were  devoted  to  the  public  for  certam  uses  only. 

The  public  have  an  undoubted  right  to  traverse  them,  and 
convey  over  them  persons,  goods,  materials,  &c.  The  ad- 
jacent householders  must  bear  any  amount  of  noise  which  is 
fairly  required  for  the  legitimate  use  of  roads ;  but  no  indi- 
vidual has  any  right  to  use  them  for  other  purposes,  as  for 
instance — 

Theatrical  representations — as  Punch,  Gymnastics. 

Playground  and  games. 

KeUgious  services. 

Music — as  Organs  and  Brass  Bands. 
These  not  merely  interfere  with  their  proper  use,  but  disturb 
the  householders  and  are  in  most  cases  a  positive  nuisance. 

The  following  letter,  from  an  "  Old  Lawyer,"  recently 
appeared  in  The  Times.  It  states  the  law  briefly,  and  with 
authority  : — 

STREET   MUSIC. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Times. 

"Sir, — Whether  street  music  in  London  ought  to  be  put 
down  or  not,  I,  living  in  the  country,  am  not  concerned  to 
answer.  I  suppose  it  is  a  question,  like  smoking,  on  which  the 
public  will  always  be  divided ;  but  as  the  law  on  the  subject  is 
so  clear  and  simple,  I  am  surprised  how  legislators  and  justices 
can  be  puzzled  about  it. 

"  Every  public  road  or  street  belongs  to  the  Sovereign,  as 
embodying  the  nation,  and  is  accordingly  called  the  King's  or 
Queen  s  highway.  The  interest  of  each  individual  is  limited 
to  a  right  of  passing  and  repassing  over  such  highway,  and  he 
is  no  more  entitled  to  use  it  for  business  or  amusement  than 
he  is  to  build  upon  it  or  dig  for  ore  beneath  its  surface. 


8TUEE1'  NUISANCER.  359 

Hence  the  keeping  of  stalls  for  sale  is  illegal,  and,  though 
often  winked  at,  is  sometimes  denounced  and  punished. 
Hence,  the  police  are  justified  in  desiring  you  to  '  move  on/ 
if  you  loiter,  in  looking  at  a  shop  window  or  conversing  with 
a  friend,  so  as  to  bar  the  progi-ess  of  passengers.  A  fortiori^  a 
band  of  musicians  has  no  lacu%  standi  on  the  ground. 

"There  is,  in  my  neighbourhood,  a  right  of  way  over  a 
gentleman's  park.  But  I  have  only  the  privilege  of  passage, 
and  none  of  remaining  on  the  path  for  the  purpose  of  reading, 
sketching,  or  playing  the  violin. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  Servant, 

"An  Old  Lawyer." 

At  most,  the  tolerance  of  noisy  occupants  of  the  streets, 
such  as  organ-grinders,  German  bands,  et  hoe  genus  amne^  is 
on  sufferance  only,  and  neither  the  municipal  law  nor  common 
sense  justifies  the  invasion  or  curtailment  of  a  man's  liberty 
to  use  his  brain,  and  exert  his  mental  energies  as  the  occasion 
may  require ;  and  that,  too,  even  within  the  very  recesses  of 
the  ^*  Englishman's  casUe." 

With  respect  to  the  remedies  against  street  music,  I  am  not 
at  all  sanguine.  The  only  one  which  is  certain  is,  positively 
to  forbid  it  in  all  cases,  and  with  it  also  that  varied  multitude 
of  vocal  noises  made  by  persons  parading  the  streets  singing, 
relating  tales,  praying,  offering  trifling  articles  for  sale, 
&c.,  all  of  them  wiUi  tlie  transparent  object  of  begging. 

In  all  these  cases  which  admit  of  it,  the  police  ought  to  be 
directed  to  take  possession  of  the  offensive  instrument  and 
convey  it  to  the  police-court,  there  to  await  the  decision  of 
the  magistrate. 

Certain  street  nuisances  re-appear  periodically  every  few 
years :  thus  the  game  called  '  tip-cat '  again  prevails. 


360  STREET  NUISANCES. 

After  a  certain  number  of  eyes  have  been  knocked  out,  the 
police  will  probably  have  orders  to  stop  the  nuisance.  It  will 
then  be  put  down  in  a  few  weeks,  and,  perhaps,  after  a  year 
or  two  it  may  break  out  afresh,  and  be  again  as  eaaily  put 
down. 

A  similar  cycle  occurs  with  children's  hoops:  they  are 
trundled  about  until  they  get  under  horses'  legs.  Now  if;  as 
it  frequently  happens,  they  are  made  of  iron,  not  only  is  the 
rider  thrown  as  well  as  the  horse,  but  the  poor  animal  is 
almost  sure  to  have  his  leg  broken. 

In  these  and  other  similar  cases,  the  offending  instrument 
should  invariably  be  detained  by  the  police  and  taken  to  the 
station  to  be  destroyed,  or  only  to  be  returned  on  payment  of 
a  small  fine  by  the  offending  party  within  three  days  after  tbe 
seizure. 

If  this  were  the  case,  a  multitude  of  daily  street  nuisances 
would  very  soon  disappear.  Boys  with  accordions  and  other 
noisy  instruments,  small  children  with  shrill  tin  whistles  w^ould 
then  be  obliged  to  ask  their  parents  to  go  to  the  police-office 
and  pay  a  fine  for  the  recovery  of  toys,  and  the  parents  them- 
selves would  prevent  their  children  from  destroying  the  time 
of  other  persons  as  soon  as  they  were  made  to  feel  that  it 
incurred  an  equal  penalty  on  their  own. 

Every  kind  of  noisy  instrument,  whether  organ  or  harp,  or 
trumpet  or  penny  whistle,  if  sounded,  should  be  seized  by  the 
police  and  taken  to  the  station,  also  all  hoops  and  instru- 
ments for  playing  games.  The  effect  of  this  would  ultimately 
be  to  diminish  the  labours  of  the  police.  At  first  they  would 
have  some  additional  trouble;  but  a  few  months  would  make 
the  disturbers  feel  that  it  was  a  very  unprofitable  practice ; 
and  after  that,  if  the  police  did  their  duty,  they  would 
only  occasionally  have  to  seize  a  stray  instrument  or  two. 


STREET  NUISANCES.  361 

Proper  warning  of  this  intention  to  enforce  the  law  ought  to 
be  given.  The  multitude  of  music-halls  now  established  in 
all  parts  of  London  is  such  that  those  who  enjoy  street  music 
may  have  a  much  larger  quantity  of  it,  and  of  a  better  kind, 
at  a  cheaper  rate  than  that  which  in  their  own  street  disturbs 
all  their  neighbours. 

If  sti*cet  music  is  to  be  at  all  tolerated  by  law,  against 
which  I  protest  in  the  strongest  manner,  then  every  per- 
former ought  to  carry  on  his  back  or  upon  his  instrument  his 
name  and  address,  or  an  authorized  number,  by  which  the 
public  might  be  saved  from  wasting  their  time  by  false  ad- 
dresses, now  so  frequently  given. 

I  have  received  several  suggestions  about  organizing  a 
society,  to  endeavour  to  put  a  stop  to  these  street  nuisances. 
]\[y  reply  has  been  that  such  a  combination  well  managed 
would  probably  have  a  very  considerable  effect,  but  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  mo  to  give  up  to  it  any  of  my  own 
time.  I  would  willingly  subscribe  to  it,  and  offer  it  any 
suggestions  that  might  assist  its  oi)erations.  Its  most  im- 
portant duty  would  be  to  ascertain  whether  the  present  law 
is  sufficient  to  put  down  the  nuisance.  In  case  it  is  not,  then 
it  would  become  necessary  to  get  it  amended,  and  for  that 
puq)08e  to  consult  with  influential  Members  about  the  intro- 
duction of  a  Bill  for  that  purpose. 

Amongst  the  legal  difficulties  are  the  following: — The 
magistrates  in  different  districts  interpret  the  law  differently. 
Might  it  not  be  expedient  that  police  magistrates  should 
meet  from  time  to  time  and  discuss  such  differences  of 
opinion,  and  agree  to  act  upon  that  of  the  majority?  Or 
ought  they  not  to  apply  to  the  Home  Secretary  for  his 
authority  how  to  interpret  it? 

If  I  am  right  in  the  opinion  which  is  confirmed  in  the 


362  STREET  NUISANCES. 

letter  of  the  "  Old  Lawyer,"  that  the  Queen's  highways  can  only 
be  legally  used  by  her  subjects  for  the  passage  of  themselves 
and  the  transport  of  their  property,  then  it  is  desirable  to 
ascertain  how  that  principle  of  the  common  law  can  be 
enforced.  Hitherto  all  proceedings  have  been  under  certain 
clauses  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Act. 

In  case  any  Association  should  be  formed  to  endeavour  to 
procure  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  put  an  end  to  the  music 
nuisance,  it  would  be  desirable  to  apply  distinctly  to  each  of 
the  Members  for  the  Metropolitan  Boroughs,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  known  on  which  side  of  the  question  they  intended 
to  vote. 

As  upon  all  other  subjects,  men  differ  upon  street  nui- 
sances. An  ancient  philosopher  divided  all  mankind  into  two 
sections,  namely,  fools  and  philosophers ;  and,  unhappily  for 
the  race,  the  one  cannot  enjoy  his  whistle  except  at  the 
expense  of  the  other.  I  was  once  asked  by  an  astute  and 
sarcastic  magistrate  whether  I  seriously  believed  that  a  man's 
brain  would  be  injured  by  listening  to  an  organ ;  my  reply 
was,  ^^ Certainly  not;''  for  the  obvious  reason  that  no  man 
having  brain  ever  listened  to  street  musicians. 

"  The  opera,  like  the  pillory,  may  he  said 
To  nail  the  ears  down,  hut  expose  the  head." 

I  believe  that  the  greater  part  of  the  householders  of 
London  would  gladly  assist  in  putting  a  stop  to  street-music 
The  proportion  of  cases  prosecuted  compared  with  the  number 
of  interruptions,  is,  in  my  own  case,  less  than  one  in  a  thou- 
sand. K  the  annoyance  is  not  absolutely  prohibited  by  law, 
the  number  of  the  police  must  be  at  least  double,  to  give 
quiet  working  people  any  repose. 


CHAPTER  XXVU. 


WIT. 


Puor  Dogs— Puns  Double  and  Triple— History  of  the  Silver  Lady — Disap- 
]ioiuted  by  the  Milliner — The  Philosopher  ])crforms  her  functions — Lady 
Morgan's  Criticism — Allsop's  Beer — Sydney  Smith— Tors  up  a  Bishop- 
Lady  M  .  .  .  and  the  GKpsy  in  Spain — Epigram  on  the  Planet  Neptune- 
Epigram  on  Henry  Drmnmond*8  attack  upon  Catholics  in  the  House  of 
Commons — On  Catholic  Miracles. 

It  has  often  struck  me  that  an  analysis  of  the  causes  of 
wit  would  be  a  very  interesting  subject  of  inquiry.  With  that 
view  I  collected  many  jest-books,  but  fortunately  in  this  one 
instance  I  had  resolution  to  abstain  from  distracting  my  atten- 
tion from  more  important  inqnirie& 

I  may»  however,  note  some  illustrations  of  it  which  occur 
to  my  memory.  The  late  Sir  Harris  Nicolas  used  to  practice 
rather  strongly  upon  some  of  his  friends.  I  was  not  an  un- 
\\illing  victim.  The  pleasure  derived  from  the  wit  far 
exceeded  any  pain  it  inflicted.  Indeed,  Sir  Harris  himself 
one  day  expressed  his  disappointment  at  my  insensibility,  by 
sajring  that  he  had  never  in  his  whole  life  been  able  really  to 
hit  me. 

The  late  Lord  S  .  .  .  .  was  sitting  with  him  one  morning 
listening  to  a  very  astute  but  rather  dry  explanation  of  some 
matter  about  which  his  Lordship  had  inquired.  At  last  he 
threw  himself  back  in  his  arm-chair  and  said,  "  My  dear 
Nicolas,  I  am  very  stupid  this  morning :  my  brains  are  all 


8()4  A  TRIPLE  PUN. 

gone  to  the  dogs."  On  which  Sir  Harris  pathetically  ex- 
claimed,— "  Poor  dogs !" 

It  is  evident  in  this  case,  that  the  wit  of  the  reply  arose 
from  sympathy  expressed  on  the  wrong  side.  The  peer  ex- 
pected sympathy  from  the  knight :  but  the  knight  gave  it  to 
tlie  dogs. 

Another  remarkable  feature  of  jokes  formed  upon  this  prin- 
ciple is,  that  they  generally  depend  upon  the  intimate  mean- 
ing of  the  words  employed,  and  not  either  upon  their  sound 
or  their  arrangement;  consequently,  they  possess  the  rare 
quality  of  being  translatable  into  all  languages. 

One  of  the  principles  of  discovery  in  many  subjects  is, 
to  generalize  from  the  individual  case  up  to  the  species,  and 
thence  to  descend  to  other  individual  instances. 

Puns  are  detestable.  The  greater  number  of  them  depend 
on  the  double  meaning  of  the  same  word,  or  on  the  similar 
pronunciation  of  words  differently  spelt.  The  following  may 
serve  as  an  example  of  a  triple  pun : — 

A  gentleman  calling  one  morning  at  the  house  of  a  lady 
whose  sister  was  remarkably  beautiful,  found  her  at  the 
writing-table.  Putting  liis  hand  upon  the  little  bell  used  few 
calling  the  attendant,  he  inquired  of  the  lady  of  the  house 
what  relationship  existed  between  his  walkingHstick,  her  sister, 
and  the  instrument  under  his  finger. 

(cane  I  (*^" 

His  walking-stick  was  jp  .    J,  the  brother  of  ja  belle 

'   ^'  (Abel. 

I  mentioned,  in  an  early  chapter,  my  boyish  admiratioii  of 
an  automaton  in  the  sht^  of  a  silver  lady,  who  attitudinized 
in  the  most  graceful  manner.  Her  fate  was  singular :  at  the 
death  of  her  maker  she  was  sold  with  the  rest  of  his  coUectioii 


THE  SILVER  LADY.  365 

of  mechanical  toys,  and  was  purcha^^ed  by  Weekes,  who  had  a 
mechanical  exhibition  in  Cockspur  Street  No  attempt  ap- 
pears to  have  been  made  to  finish  the  automaton;  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  placed  out  of  the  way  in  an  attic  unco- 
vered and  utterly  neglected. 

On  the  sale  by  auction  of  Weeke's  Museum,  I  met  again 
the  object  of  my  early  admiration.  Having  purchased  the 
silver  figure,  I  proceeded  to  take  to  pieces  the  whole  of  the 
mechanism,  and  found  a  multitude  of  small  holes  which  had 
been  stopped  up  as  not  having  fulfilled  their  intended  object. 
In  fact,  it  appeared  tolerably  certain  that  scarcely  any 
drawings  could  have  been  prepared  for  the  automaton,  but 
that  the  beautiful  result  arose  from  a  system  of  continual 
trials. 

I  myself  repaired  and  restored  all  the  mechanism  of  the 
Silver  Lady,  by  which  title  she  was  afterwards  known  to  my 
friends.  I  placed  her  under  a  glass  case  on  a  pedestal  in  my 
drawing-room,  where  she  received,  in  her  own  silent  but  grace- 
ful manner,  those  valued  friends  who  so  frequently  honoured 
me  with  their  society  on  certain  Saturday  evenings. 

This  piece  of  mechanism  formed  a  striking  contrast  with  the 
unfinished  portion  of  the  DiflFerence  Engine,  No.  1,  which 
was  placed  in  the  adjacent  room :  the  whole  of  the  latter 
mechanism  existed  in  drawings  upon  paper  before  any  portion 
of  it  was  put  together. 

The  external  surface  of  the  figure,  which  was  beautiful  in 
form,  was  made  of  silver.  It  was,  therefore,  necessary  to 
supply  her  with  robes  suitable  to  her  station.  This  would 
have  been  rather  difficult  for  a  philosopher,  but  it  was  made 
easy  by  the  aid  of  one  or  two  of  my  fair  friends  who  kindly 
intervened.  These  generously  assisted  with  their  own  |>ecu- 
liar  skill  and  taste  at  the  toileUe  of  their  rival  Syren. 


366  LADY  MORGAN'S  CRITICISM. 

Sketches  were  made  and  modiste  of  the  purest  water  were 
employed.  The  result  was,  upon  the  whole,  highly  satis- 
fieictory.  One  evening,  however,  the  arrival  of  the  new  dress 
was  postponed  to  so  late  a  period,  that  I  feared  it  had  entirely 
escaped  the  recollection  of  the  executive  department.  The 
hour  at  which  my  friends  usually  arrived  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching. 

In  this  difficulty  it  occurred  to  me  that  there  were  a  few 
remnants  of  beautiful  Chinese  crape  in  the  silver  lady's  ward- 
robe. Having  selected  two  strips,  one  of  pink  and  the  other 
of  light  green,  I  hastily  wound  a  platted  band  of  bright  auburn 
hair  round  the  block  on  which  her  head-dresses  were  usually 
constructed,  and  then  pinned  on  the  folds  of  coloured  crape. 
This  formed  a  very  tolerable  turban,  and  was  not  much  un- 
like a  kind  of  head-dress  called  a  toke,  which  prevailed  at 
that  period.  Another  larger  piece  of  the  same  pink  Chinese 
crape  I  wound  round  her  person,  which  I  thought  showed 
it  off  to  considerable  advantage.  Fortunately,  I  found  in 
her  wardrobe  a  pair  of  small  pink  satin  slippers,  on  each  of 
which  I  fixed  a  single  silver  spangle:  then  placing  a  small 
silver  crescent  in  the  front  of  her  turban,  I  felt  I  had  accom- 
plished all  that  time  and  circumstances  permitted. 

The  criticisms  on  the  costume  of  the  Silver  Lady  were 
various.  In  the  course  of  the  evening.  Lady  Morgan  commu- 
nicated to  me  confidentially  her  own  opinion  of  the  dresa 

Holding  up  her  fan,  she  whispered,  "  My  dear  Mr.  Babbage, 
I  think  your  Silver  Lady  is  rather  slightly  clad  to-night ;  shall 
I  lend  her  a  petticoat  ?"  to  which  I  replied,  *'  My  dear  Lady 
Morgan,  I  am  much  indebted  for  your  very  considerate  offer, 
but  I  fear  you  have  not  got  one  to  spare." 

This  retort  was  not  a  pun,  but  merely  a  "  double-entendre." 
It  might  mean  either  that  her  Ladyship  had  on  invisibles,  but 


ALLSOFS  BEER.  367 

not  enough  to  be  able  to  spare  one :  or  it  might  imply  that, 
liaving  no  garment  of  that  kind,  she  was  unable  to  lend  one 
to  a  friend. 

About  the  time  of  the  attempt  to  assassinate  the  Emperor 
of  the  French  by  Orsini,  an  Englishman  named  Alsop  was 
arrested  in  London,  and  afterwards  tried  and  acquitted  of  a 
connection  with  the  assassins. 

At  a  distinguished  dinner-party,  amongst  whom  was  the 
Attorney-General  of  that  day,  there  arose  a  question  as  to 
who  Mr.  Alsop  was.  One  of  the  company  asked,  "  Whetlier  it 
was  Allsop's  beer?"  meaning,  whether  the  prisoner  was  the 
concoctor  of  that  delightful  beverage.  The  gentleman  to 
whom  the  question  was  addressed,  immediately  replied,  "  It 
is  not  at  present  Allsop's  teer,  but,"  said  he,  turning  to  the 
Attorney-General,  '*  if  your  prosecution  succeeds,  it  is  very 
likely  to  become  Alsop's  W^." 

Sydney  Smith  occasionally  called  upon  me  in  the  morning, 
and  was  ever  a  most  welcome  visitor.  The  conversation 
usually  commenced  upon  grave  subjects,  and  I  was  always 
desirous  of  profiting  by  the  light  his  powerful  mind  threw  upon 
the  most  diflBcult  questions. 

When  railways  first  came  into  existence  much  reasonable 
alarm  arose  from  the  rapidity  of  the  trains  and  the  immense 
masses  of  matter  in  motion.  One  morning  my  friend  called 
and  asked  my  opinion  on  the  subject  I  pointed  out  what 
then  appeared  to  me  the  chief  sources  of  danger,  and  entered 
upon  some  of  the  precautions  to  be  attended  to,  and  of  re- 
medies to  be  applied. 

Sydney  Smith  then  asked  me  why  I  did  not  go  and  inform 
the  Government  of  the  danger  and  of  the  means  of  remedying 
it  My  answer  was,  that  such  a  mission  would  be  a  pure 
waste  of  time,  that  nothing  whatever  would  be  done  until 


368  OPINION  ON  DUELLING. 

some  great  man,  a  prime  minister  for  instance,  were  smashed. 
I  then  continued,  "  Perhaps  a  bishop  or  two  would  do ;  for 
you  know,"  said  I,  looking  slyly  at  my  friend,  "  they  are  so 
much  better  prepared  for  the  change  than  we  are." 

I  have  heard  this  view  of  the  subject  assigned  to  Sydney 
SmitL  It  is  very  probable  that  it  should  have  occurred  to 
him,  although  I  scarcely  imagine  he  would  have  given  the 
reason  I  did  for  the  preference.  His  celebrated  suggestion  to 
the  person  who  asked  him  how  a  man  could  find  which  way  the 
wind  blew  when  there  w£is  no  weathercock  in  sight,*  adds  to 
the  probability  of  Sydney  Smith's  originality.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  may  support  my  own  pretensions  to  independent  in- 
vention by  referring  to  a  parallel  remark  I  made  many  years 
before : — 

At  a  large  dinner  party  the  subject  of  duelling  was  dis- 
cussed. Various  opinions  were  propounded  as  to  its  absolute 
necessity.  I  had  made  no  remark  upon  the  question,  but 
during  a  slight  pause  somebody  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
table  asked  my  opinion  on  the  subject.  My  reply  was, 
I  always  wished  that  the  injured  man  should  fall.  On 
being  asked  my  reason  for  that  wish,  I  answered,  "  Because 
he  is  so  much  better  prepared  for  the  change  than  the  wrong- 
doer." I  afterwards  learned,  with  great  satisfaction,  that 
when  the  ladies  retired  to  the  drawing-room,  the  discnssion 
was  much  criticized  and  my  reply  highly  applauded. 

The  late  Lady  M ,  having  a  great  desire  to  see 

Mr.  Borrow,  asked  me  to  invite  him  to  one  of  my  Saturday 
evening  parties.  I  expressed  my  regret  that,  not  having 
the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance,  I  was  unable  to  ask  him  to 
my  house,  as  I  never  made  "  lions  '*  of  my  guests. 

A  short  time  after,  a  friend  who  was  coming  to  me  on  the 
•  I'oss  up  a  bishop. 


A  SIJGHT  MISTAKE.  869 

following  Saturday,  called  to  ask  me  to  allow  him  to 
bring  Mr.  Borrow  who  dined  with  him  on  that  day,  to  my 
party  in  the  evening.     Of  course,  I  willingly  gave  the  invitan 

tion,  and  then  wrote  a  note  to  inform  Lady  M 

of  the  occurrence  of  the  opportunity  she  wished  for. 

On  the  following  Saturday  evening  Lady  M was 

announced,  and  immediately  asked  me  whether  Mr.  Borrow 
had  arrived.  I  said  that  he  had,  and  that  he  was  in  the 
further  room.  I  then  added,  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 
moments  I  should  have  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  her 
Mr.  Borrow. 

Lady  M ,  who  had  several  other  engagements  that 

evening,  said,  ''  Only  tell  me  what  sort  of  a  person  he  is, 
and  I  will  go  and  find  him  out  myself 

I  observed  that  he  was  a  remarkably  tall,  straggling  person, 
with  a  very  intelligent  countenance.  With  these  instructions 
her  ladysliip  left  me,  and  finding,  as  she  imagined,  exactly 
the  man  I  had  described,  immediately  accosted  him.  The 
conversation  was  highly  interesting,  and  included  a  great 
variety  of  widely  different  subjects.  It  concluded  by  Lady 
M expressing  her  delight  with  her  new  acquaint- 
ance, from  whom  she  parted  with  this  remark,  "What  a 
delightful  gipsying  life  you  must  have  led !" 

A  slight  mistake  had,  however,  occurred,  which  was  not 
discovered  until  long  after:  the  person  thus  addressed 
was  not  Mr.  Borrow,  but  Dr.  Whately,  the  Archbishop  of 
Dublin. 

In  tills  chapter  may  be  placed  one  or  two  epigrams  which, 
though  upon  subjects  of  transitory  interest,  may  amuse  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  attending  circumstances. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  great  discussion  arose  about 
the  conflicting  claims  of  Adams  and  Le  Verrier  to  the  di»- 

S  B 


370  WINKING  STATUEa 

covery  of  the  planet  Neptune.     A  great  controversy  resulted, 
which  was  at  last  summed  up  in  the  following  couplet : — 

**  When  Airy  was  told,  he  wouldn't  belieye  it ; 
When  Challis  saw,  he  oouldn't  peroeiye  it** 

The  clever  and  eccentric  member  for  East  Surrey,  the  late 
Henry  Drummond,  who  founded  a  professorship  of  Political 
Economy  at  Oxford,  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  a  most 
amusing,  though  rather  strong  speech  against  the  modem 
miracles  of  the  Boman  Catholic  Church,  in  which  he  spoke 
of  "their  bleeding  pictures,  their  winking  statues,  and  the 
Virgin's  milk."  On  this  some  profane  wag  wrote  the  following 
couplet : — 

"  Sagacious  Drnmmond,  explain,  with  yoor  dirinity  : 
Why  reject  the  milk,  yet  swallow  the  yirginity  ?" 

Probably  some  clever  fellow  of  that  faith  was  at  the  bottom 
of  this  mischief ;  for  I  have  observed  that  the  cleverest  fellows 
seem  to  think  that  the  merit  of  adhering  to  a  cause  entitles 
them  to  the  right  of  quizzing  it. 

I  was  particularly  struck  with  this  idea  when  I  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  at  Cologne,  the  celebrated  picture  of  St.  Ursula 
and  her  eleven  thousand  virgins.  The  artist  has  quietly 
made  every  one  of  them  more  or  less  matronly. 


i 


CHAPTER  XXVra. 

HINTS  FOB  TRAYELLER8. 

New  Inventions — Stomach  Pump  —  Built  a  Carriage  —  Description  of 
Tliames  Tunnel — Bartends  Iridescent  Buttons — Chinese  Orders  of  Nobility 
— Manufactory  of  Gold  Chains  at  Venice — Pulsations  and  Respirations 
of  Animals — I^mching  a  Hole  in  Glass  without  cracking  it — Specimen 
of  an  Enormous  Smash — Proteus  Auguineus — Travellers'  Hotel  at  Shef- 
field— Wentworth  House. 

In  this  chapter  I  propose  to  throw  together  a  few  sugges- 
tions, which  may  assist  in  rendering  a  tour  successful  for  its 
objects  and  agreeable  in  its  reminiscences. 

Money  is  the  fuel  of  travelling.  I  can  give  the  traveller 
a  few  hints  how  to  get  money,  although  I  never  had  any  skill 
in  making  it  myself. 

In  one  tour,  extending  over  more  than  a  twelvemonth,  I 
took  with  me  two  letters  of  credit,  each  for  half  the  sum  I 
should  probably  require.  My  reasons  for  this  were,  that  in 
case  one  was  lost  the  otlier  might  still  be  available.  One  of 
these  was  generally  kept  about  my  person,  the  other  concealed 
in  my  writing-case.  Another  reason  was,  tliat  if  I  were  un- 
luckily carried  off  and  detained  for  a  ransom,  it  might  thus 
be  mitigated. 

It  is  of  great  advantage  to  a  traveller  to  have  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  use  of  tools.  It  is  often  valuable  for  his 
own  comfort,  and  sometimes  renders  him  able  to  assist  a 
friend.    I  met  at  Frankfort  the  eldest  son  of  the  coachmaker 

2  B  2 


372  TRAVELLING  CABRLIGE. 

of  the  Emperor  of  Kossia.  He  had  been  travelling  over  the 
western  part  of  Europe,  and  showed  me  drawings  he  had  made 
of  all  the  most  remarkable  carriages  he  had  met  with.  Some 
of  these  were  selected  for  their  elegance,  others  for  the  re- 
verse ;  take,  as  an  example,  the  Lord  Mayor's. 

We  travelled  together  to  Municli,  and  I  took  that  oppor- 
tunity of  discossing,  seriatim,  with  my  very  intelligent  young 
friend,  every  part  of  the  structure  of  a  carriage. 

I  made  notes  of  certain  portions  in  case  I  should  find 
occasion  to  have  a  carriage  built  for  my  own  use. 

The  young  Sussian  was  on  his  way  to  Moscow,  and  was 
very  anxious  to  prevail  on  me  to  accompany  him  thither,  for 
which  purpose  he  offered  to  wait  my  own  time  at  Munich. 
As,  however,  I  wished  to  reach  Italy  as  soon  as  possible,  I 
declined  his  proposition  with  much  regret. 

However,  in  the  following  year,  I  profited  by  the  informa- 
tion I  then  gained.  1  had  built  for  me  at  Vienna,  from  my 
own  design,  a  strong  light  four-wheeled  caleche  in  which  I 
could  sleep  at  full  length.  Amongst  its  conveniences  were  a 
Limp  by  which  I  occasionally  boiled  an  egg  or  cooked  my 
breakfast.  A  large  shallow  drawer  in  which  might  be  placed, 
without  folding,  plans,  drawings,  and  dress-coats.  Small 
pockets  for  the  various  kinds  of  money,  a  larger  one  for 
travelling  books  and  telescopes,  and  many  other  conveniences. 
It  cost  somewhat  about  sixty  pounds.  After  carrying  me 
during  six  months,  at  the  expense  of  only  five  francs  for  repair, 
I  sold  it  at  the  Hague  for  thirty  pounds. 

It  is  always  advantageous  for  a  traveller  to  carry  with  him 
anything  of  use  in  science  or  in  art  if  it  is  of  a  portable 
nature,  and  still  more  so  if  it  has  also  the  advantage  of 
novelty.  At  the  time  I  started  on  a  lengthened  tour  the 
stomach-pump  had  just  been  invented.    It  appeared  to  give 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THAMES  TUNNEL.  378 

promise  of  great  utility.  I  therefore  arranged  in  a  small  box 
the  parts  of  an  instrument  which  could  be  employed  either 
as  a  syringe,  a  stomach-pump,  or  for  cupping.  As  a  stomach- 
pump,  it  was  in  great  request  from  its  novelty  and  utility. 
I  had  many  applications  for  permission  to  make  drawings  of 
it,  to  which  I  always  most  willingly  acceded.  At  Mimich, 
Dr.  Weisbrod,  the  king's  physician,  was  greatly  interested 
with  it,  and  at  his  wish  I  lent  it  to  the  chief  surgical  instru- 
ment-maker who  produced  for  him  an  exact  copy  of  the 
whole  apparatus. 

Having  visited  the  Thames  Tunnel  a  day  or  two  before  I 
started  for  the  Continent,  I  purchased  a  dozen  copies  of  the 
very  lucid  account  of  that  most  interesting  work.  Six  of 
the  copies  were  in  French  and  the  other  six  in  the  German 
language.  I  frequently  lent  a  copy,  and  upon  some  occasions 
I  gave  one  away;  but  if  I  had  had  twice  that  number  I 
should  have  found  that  I  might  have  distributed  them  with 
advantage  as  acknowledgments  of  the  many  attentions  I 
received. 

Another  most  valuable  piece  of  travelling  merchandise 
consisted  of  a  dozen  large  and  a  dozen  small  gold  buttons 
stamped  by  Barton's  steel  dies.  These  buttons  displayed  the 
most  beautiful  iridescence,  especially  in  the  light  of  the  sun. 
They  were  formed  by  ruling  the  steel  die  in  parallel  lines 
in  various  forms.  The  lines  were  from  the  four  to  the  ten 
thousandth  of  an  inch  apart 

I  possessed  a  die  which  Mr.  Barton  had  kindly  given  me. 
This  I  kept  in  my  writing-case ;  but  I  had  had  a  small  piece 
of  steel  nded  in  the  same  way,  though  not  with  quite  the 
same  perfection,  which  I  always  kept  in  my  waistcoat  pocket ; 
it  was  also  accompanied  by  a  small  gold  button  in  a  sandal* 
wood  case.     These  were  frequently  of  great  service.      The 


374  IRIDESCENT  BUTTONS. 

mere  sight  of  them  procured  me  many  little  attentions  in 
diligences  and  steamboats. 

Of  course  I  never  appeared  to  be  the  possessor  of  more 
than  one  of  these  treasured  buttons ;  so  that  if  any  one  had 
saved  my  life,  its  gift  would  have  been  thought  a  handsome 
acknowledgment  If  I  had  travelled  in  the  East,  as  I  had 
originally  intended  until  the  battle  of  Navarino  prevented 
me,  my  buttons  might  have  given  me  unlimited  success  in 
the  celestial  empire. 

The  Chinese,  like  ourselves,  have  five  orders  of  nobility. 
They  are  indicated  by  spherical  buttons.  The  Chinese 
nobles,  however,  wear  them  on  the  top  of  their  caps,  whilst 
our  nobility  wear  their  pearls  and  strawberry-leaves  in  their 
armorial  bearings. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  most  anciently 
civilized  nation  should  have  invented  an  order  of  knighthood 
almost  exactly  similar  to  our  own — the  order  of  the  Pea- 
cock's Feather — which,  like  our  own  Garter,  is  confined  to  ceiv 
tain  classes  of  nobility  of  the  highest  rank.  Of  the  two  the 
decoration  of  the  Chinese  noble  is  certainly  the  more  graceful. 

One  out  of  many  illustrations  may  show  the  use  I  made  of 
a  button.  During  my  first  visit  to  Venice  I  wished  to  see  a 
manufactory  of  gold  chains  for  which  that  city  is  justly  cele- 
brated. I  readily  got  permission,  and  the  proprietor  was  so 
good  as  to  accompany  me  round  his  factory.  I  had  inquired 
the  price  of  various  chains,  and  had  expressed  my  wish  to 
purchase  a  few  inches  of  each  kind ;  but  I  was  informed  that 
they  never  sold  less  than  a  braccia  of  any  one  chain.  This 
amount  would  have  made  my  purchase  more  costly  than  I 
proposed,  so  I  gave  it  up. 

In  the  meantime  we  proceeded  through  several  rooms  in 
.which  various  processes  were  going  on.      Observing  some 


THE  VALUE  OF  A  BUTTON.  875 

tools  in  one  of  the  shops,  J  took  up  a  file  and  asked  whence 
it  was  procured  This  led  to  a  conversation  on  the  subject, 
in  which  the  proprietor  gave  me  some  account  of  files  from 
various  countries,  but  concluded  by  observing  that  the 
Lancashire  files,  when  they  could  be  got,  were  by  far  the 
best.  I  took  this  opportunity  of  asking  him  whether  he  had 
seen  any  of  our  latest  productions  in  steel:  then  pulling 
out  of  my  waistcoat-pocket  the  piece  of  hardened  steel,  ruled 
by  a  diamond,  I  put  it  into  his  hands.  The  sun  was  shining 
brightly,  and  he  was  very  much  interested  with  it  I  re- 
marked that  in  a  darkened  room,  and  with  a  single  lamp,  it 
would  be  seen  with  still  greater  advantage.  A  room  was  soon 
darkened,  and  a  single  lamp  produced,  and  the  efiect  was 
still  more  perfect  My  conductor  then  observed  that  his  ma- 
naging man  was  a  very  skilful  workman,  and  if  I  could  afford 
the  time,  he  should  much  wish  to  show  him  this  beautiful 
sight  I  said  it  always  gave  me  pleasure  to  see  and  converse 
with  a  skilful  workman,  and  that  I  considered  it  as  time 
well  spent  The  master  sent  for  his  superintendent,  who, 
being  of  a  judicious  turn  of  mind,  was  lavish  in  admiring 
what  his  master  approved.  The  master  himself,  gratified  by 
this  happy  confirmation,  turning  to  me,  said  that  he  would  let 
me  have  pieces  of  any  or  all  of  his  gold  chains  of  any  length, 
however  short  I  might  wish  them  to  be. 

I  thanked  him  for  thus  enabling  me  to  make  my  country- 
men ap])reciate  the  excellence  of  Venetian  workmanship,  and 
purchased  small  samples  of  every  kind  of  chain  then  manu- 
factured. These,  on  my  return  to  London,  I  weighed  and 
measured,  and  referred  to  them  in  the  economy  of  mcmufao- 
tures  as  illustrations  of  the  different  proportions  in  which 
skilled  labour  and  price  of  raw  material  occur  in  the  same 
class  of  mcmufactured  articles. 


376  PULSATIONS  AND  INSPIRATIONS. 

A  friend  of  mine,  then  at  Venice,  again  visited  that  city  about 
five  years  afterwards.  He  subsequently  informed  me  that 
he  had  purchased,  at  the  manufactory  I  visited,  samples  of 
gold  chains  about  an  inch  or  two  long,  fixed  on  black  velvet, 
and  that  it  formed  a  regular  article  of  trade  in  some  demand. 

A  man  may,  without  being  a  proficient  in  any  science,  and 
indeed  with  only  the  most  limited  knowledge  of  a  small 
portion  of  it,  yet  make  himself  useful  to  those  who  are  most 
instructed.  However  limited  the  path  he  may  himself  pursue, 
he  will  insensibly  acquire  other  information  in  return  for 
that  which  he  can  communicate.  I  will  illustrate  this  by  one 
of  my  own  pursuits.  I  possess  the  slightest  possible  acquaint- 
ance with  the  vast  fields  of  animal  life,  but  at  an  early  period 
I  was  struck  by  the  numerical  regularity  of  the  pulsation 
and  of  the  breathings.  It  appeared  to  me  that  there  must 
exist  some  relation  between  these  two  functions.  Accord- 
ingly, I  took  every  opportunity  of  counting  the  numbers  of 
the  pulsations  and  of  the  breathings  of  various  animals.  The 
pig  fair  at  Pavia  and  the  book  fair  at  Leipsic  equally  placed 
before  me  menageries  in  which  I  could  collect  such  facts. 
Every  zoological  collection  of  living  animals  which  I  visited 
thus  gained  an  additional  interest,  and  occasionally  excited 
the  attention  of  those  in  charge  of  it  to  making  a  collection 
of  facts  relating  to  that  subject  Tliis  led  me  at  another 
period  to  generalize  the  subject  of  inquiry,  and  to  print  a 
skeleton  form  for  the  constants  of  the  class  mammalia.  It 
was  reprinted  by  the  British  Association  at  Cambridge  in 
1833,  and  also  at  Brussels  in  the  'Travaux  du  Congress 
G^n&al  de  Statistique,'  Brussels,  1853. 

I  have  so  frequently  been  mortified  by  having  the  utterly- 


HOW  TO  PUNCH  A  HOLE  IN  GLASS.  377 

undeserved  reputation  of  knowing  everything  that  I  was  led 
to  inquire  into  the  probable  grounds  of  the  egregious  fallacy. 
The  most  frequent  symptom  was  an  address  of  this  kind : — 
**  Now  Mr.  Babbage,  will  you,  who  know  everything,  kindly 
**  explain  to  me  —  —  — ."  Perhaps  the  thing  whose  expla- 
nation was  required  might  be  the  metre  of  some  ancient 
Chinese  poem :  or  whether  there  were  any  large  rivers  in  the 
planet  Mercury. 

One  of  the  most  useful  accomplishments  for  a  philosophical 
traveller  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  I  learned  from  a  work- 
man, who  taught  me  how  to  punch  a  hole  in  a  sheet  of  glass 
without  making  a  crack  in  it. 

The  process  is  very  simple.  Two  centre-punches,  a  ham- 
mer, an  ordinary  bench-vice,  and  an  old  file,  are  all  the 
tools  required.  These  may  be  found  in  any  blacksmith's  shop. 
Having  decided  upon  the  part  of  the  glass  in  which  you 
wish  to  make  the  hole,  scratch  a  cross  (X)  upon  the  desired 
spot  with  the  point  of  the  old  file ;  then  turn  the  bit  of  glass 
over,  and  scratch  on  the  other  side  a  similar  mark  exactly 
opposite  to  the  former. 

Fix  one  of  the  small  centre-punches  with  its  point  upwards 
in  the  vice.  Let  an  assistant  gently  hold  the  bit  of  glass 
with  its  scratched  point  exactly  resting  upon  the  point  of  the 
centre-punch. 

Take  the  other  centre-punch  in  your  own  left  hand  and 
place  its  point  in  the  centre  of  the  upper  scratch,  which  is  of 
course  nearly,  if  not  exactly,  above  the  fixed  centre-punch. 
Now  hit  the  upper  centre-punch  a  very  slight  blow  with 
the  hammer:  a  mere  touch  is  almost  sufficient.  This  must 
be  carefully  repeated  two  or  three  timea  The  result  of  these 
blows  will  be  to  cause  the  centre  of  the  cross  to  be,  as  it  were, 
gently  [)Ounded. 


378  CUTTING  A  HOLE  IN  GLASS. 

Turn  the  glass  over  and  let  the  slight  cavity  thus  formed 
rest  upon  the  fixed  centre-punch.  Repeat  the  light  blows 
upon  this  side  of  the  glass,  and  after  turning  it  two  or  three 
times,  a  very  small  hole  will  be  made  through  the  glass.  It 
not  unfrequently  happens  that  a  smaU  crack  occurs  in  the 
glass ;  but  with  a  little  skill  this  can  be  cut  out  with  the 
pane  of  the  hammer. 

The  next  process  is  to  enlarge  the  hole  and  cut  it  into  the 
required  shape  with  the  pane  of  the  hammer.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  supporting  the  glass  upon  the  point  of  the  fixed 
centre-punch,  very  close  to  the  edge  required  to  be  cut.  A 
light  blow  must  then  be  struck  with  the  pane  of  the  hammer 
upon  the  edge  to  be  broken.  This  must  be  repeated  until 
the  required  shape  is  obtained. 

The  principles  on  which  it  depends  are,  that  glass  is  a 
material  breaking  in  every  direction  with  a  conchoidal  frac- 
ture, and  that  the  vibrations  which  would  have  caused  crack- 
ing or  fracture  are  checked  by  the  support  of  the  fixed  centre- 
punch  in  close  contiguity  with  tlie  part  to  be  broken  off. 

When  by  hastily  performing  this  operation  I  have  oaused 
the  glass  to  crack,  I  have  frequently,  by  using  more  care, 
cut  an  opening  all  round  the  cracked  part,  and  so  let  it  drop 
out  without  spreading. 

This  process  is  rendered  still  more  valuable  by  the  use  of 
the  diamond.  I  usually  carried  in  my  travels  a  diamond 
mounted  on  a  small  circle  of  wood,  so  that  I  could  easily  cut 
out  circles  of  glass  with  small  holes  in  the  centre.  The  de- 
scription of  this  process  is  sufiicient  to  explain  it  to  an 
experienced  workman ;  but  if  the  reader  should  -msh  to 
employ  it,  his  readiest  plan  would  be  to  ask  such  a  person  to 
show  him  how  to  do  it 

The  above  technical  description  will  doubtless  be  rather 


THE  GRATEFUL  GLAZIER.  379 

dry  and  obscure  to  the  general  reader ;  so  I  hope  to  make 
him  amends  by  one  or  two  of  the  consequences  which  have 
resulted  to  me  from  having  instructed  others  in  the  art. 

In  the  year  1825,  during  a  visit  to  Devonport,  I  had  apart- 
ments in  the  house  of  a  glazier,  of  whom  one  day  I  inquired 
whether  he  was  acquainted  with  the  art  of  punching  a  hole 
in  glass,  to  which  he  answered  in  the  negative,  and  expressed 
great  curiosity  to  see  it  done.  Finding  that  at  a  short  dis- 
tance there  was  a  blacksmith  whom  he  sometimes  employed, 
we  went  together  to  pay  him  a  visit,  and  having  selected 
from  his  rough  tools  the  centre-punches  and  the  hammer,  I 
proceeded  to  explain  and  execute  the  whole  process,  with 
which  my  landlord  was  highly  delighted. 

On  the  eve  of  my  departure  I  asked  for  the  landlord's  ac- 
count, which  was  duly  sent  up  and  quite  correct,  except  the 
omission  of  the  charge  for  the  apartments  which  I  had  agreed 
for  at  two  guineas  a  week.  I  added  the  four  weeks  for  my 
lodgings,  and  the  next  morning,  having  placed  the  total 
amount  upon  the  bill,  I  sent  for  my  host  in  order  to  pay  him, 
remarking  that  he  had  omitted  the  principal  article  of  his 
account,  which  I  had  inserted. 

He  replied  that  he  had  intentionally  omitted  the  lodgings, 
as  he  could  not  think  of  taking  payment  for  them  from  a 
gentleman  who  had  done  him  so  great  a  service.  Quite  un- 
conscious of  having  rendered  him  any  service,  I  asked  him  to 
explain  how  I  had  done  him  any  good.  He  replied  that  he 
had  the  contract  for  the  supply  and  repair  of  the  whole  of 
the  lamps  of  Devonport,  and  that  the  art  in  which  I  had  in- 
structed him  would  save  him  more  than  twenty  pounds  a 
year.  I  found  some  difficulty  in  prevailing  on  my  grateful 
landlord  to  accept  what  was  justly  his  due. 

The  second  instance  I  shall  mention  of  the  use  to  which  I 


380  MODESTY  REWARDED. 

turned  tliis  art  of  punching  a  hole  in  glass  occurred  in  Italy, 
at  Bologna. 

I  spent  some  weeks  very  agreeably  in  that  celebrated  uni- 
yersity,  which  is  still  proud  of  having  had  the  discoverer  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  amongst  its  students.  One 
momftig  an  Italian  friend  accompanied  me  round  the  town, 
to  point  out  the  more  remarkable  shops  and  manufactories. 
Passing  through  a  small  street,  he  remarked  that  tliere  was  a 
very  well-informed  man  who  kept  a  little  shop  for  the  sale  of 
needles  and  tape  and  a  few  other  such  articles,  but  who  also 
made  barometers  and  thermometers,  and  had  a  very  respect- 
able knowledge  of  such  subjects.  I  proposed  that  we  should 
look  in  upon  him  as  we  were  passing  through  the  street  On 
entering  his  small  shop,  I  was  introduced  to  its  tenant,  who 
conversed  very  modestly  and  very  sensibly  upon  various  ma- 
thematical instruments. 

I  had  invited  several  of  my  friends  and  professors  to  spend 
the  evening  with  me  at  my  hotel,  for  the  purpose  of  examin- 
ing various  instruments  I  had  brought  with  me.  I  knew  that 
the  sight  of  them  would  be  quite  a  treat  to  the  occupier 
of  this  little  shop,  so  I  mentioned  the  idea  to  my  friend,  and 
inquired  whether  my  expected  guests  in  the  evening  would 
think  I  had  taken  a  liberty  with  them  in  inviting  the  humble 
constructor  of  instruments  at  the  same  time. 

My  friend  and  conductor  immediately  replied  that  he  was 
well  known  to  most  of  the  professors,  and  much  respected  by 
them,  and  that  they  would  think  it  very  kind  of  me  to  give 
him  that  opportunity  of  seeing  the  instruments  I  possessed. 
I  therefore  took  the  opportunity  of  asking  him  to  join  the 
very  agreeable  party  wliich  assembled  in  my  apartments  in 
the  evening. 

We  now  made  a  tour  of  the  city,  and  reached  the  factory 


PRETENSION  REPRESSED.  381 

of  the  chief  philosophical  instrument-maker  of  Bologna. 
He  took  great  pleasure  in  showing  me  the  various  instru- 
raente  he  manufactured;  but  still  there  was  a  certain  air 
of  presumption  about  him,  which  seemed  to  indicate  a 
less  amount  of  knowledge  than  I  should  otherwise  have 
assigned  to  him.  I  had  on  the  preceding  day  mentioned  to 
my  Italian  friend,  who  now  accompanied  me,  that  there 
existed  a  very  simple  method  of  punching  a  hole  in  a  piece 
of  glass,  which,  as  he  was  much  interested  about  it,  I  pro- 
mised to  show  him  on  the  earliest  opportunity. 

Finding  myself  in  the  workshop  of  tlie  first  instrument 
maker  in  Bologna,  and  observing  the  few  tools  I  wanted,  I 
thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  explain  the  process  to  my 
friend ;  but  I  could  only  do  this  by  applying  to  the  master 
for  the  loan  of  some  tools.  I  also  tliought  it  possible  that  the 
method  was  known  to  him,  and  that,  having  more  practice, 
he  would  do  the  work  better  than  myself. 

I  therefore  mentioned  the  circumstance  of  my  promise, 
and  asked  the  master  whether  he  was  acquainted  with  the 
process.  His  reply  was,  "  Yes ;  we  do  it  every  day."  I  then 
liauded  over  to  him  the  punch  and  the  piece  of  glass,  de- 
claring that  a  more  amateur,  who  only  occasionally  practised 
it  could  not  venture  to  operate  before  the  first  instrument- 
maker  in  Bologna,  and  in  his  own  workshop. 

I  had  observed  a  certain  shade  of  surprise  glance  across  the 
face  of  one  of  the  workmen  who  heard  the  aasertion  of  this 
daily  practice  of  his  master's,  and,  as  I  had  my  doubts  of  it,  I 
contrived  to  i)ut  him  in  such  a  position  that  he  must  either 
retract  his  statement  or  else  attempt  to  do  the  trick. 

He  then  called  for  a  flat  piece  of  iron  with  a  small  hole  in 
it.  Placing  the  piece  of  glass  upon  the  top  of  this  bit  of 
iron,  and  holding  the  punch  upon  it  directly  above  the  aper- 


382  AWFUL  SMASH.. 

tore,  he  gave  a  strong  blow  of  the  hammer,  and  smashed  the 
glass  into  a  hundred  pieces. 

I  immediately  began  to  console  him,  remarking  that  I  did 
not  myself  always  succeed,  and  that  unaccountable  circum- 
stances sometimes  defeated  the  skill  even  of  the  most  accom- 
plished workman.  I  then  advised  him  to  try  a  larger*  piece 
of  glass.  Just  after  the  crash  I  had  put  my  hand  upon  a 
heavier  hammer,  which  I  immediately  withdrew  on  his  per- 
ceiving it  Thus  encouraged,  he  called  for  a  larger  piece  of 
glass,  and  a  bit  of  iron  with  a  smaller  hole  in  it.  In  the 
meantime  all  the  men  in  the  shop  rested  from  their  work  to 
witness  this  feat  of  every-day  occurrence.  Their  master  now 
seized  the  heavier  hammer,  which  I  had  previously  just 
touched.  Finding  him  preparing  for  a  strong  and  decided 
blow,  I  turned  aside  my  head,  in  order  to  avoid  seeing  him 
blush — and  also  to  save  my  own  face  from  the  coming  cloud 
of  splinters. 

I  just  saw  the  last  triumphant  flourish  of  the  heavy  hammer 
waving  over  his  head,  and  then  heard,  on  its  thimdering  fall, 
the  crash  made  by  the  thousand  fragments  of  glass  which  it 
scattered  over  the  workshop. 

I  still,  however,  felt  it  my  duty  to  administer  what  consola- 
tion I  could  to  a  fellow-creature  in  distress ;  so  I  repeated  to 
him  (which  was  the  truth)  that  I,  too,  occasionally  failed.  Then 
looking  at  my  watch,  and  observing  to  my  companion  that 
these  tools  were  not  adapted  to  my  mode  of  work,  I  reminded 
him  that  we  had  a  pressing  engagement  I  then  took  leave 
of  this  celebrated  instrumentrmaker,  with  many  thanks  for  all 
he  had  shown  me. 

After  such  a  misadventure,  I  thought  it  would  be  cruel  to 

♦  The  larger  the  i)iece  of  glass  to  be  punched  the  more  certainly  the  pro- 
cess succeeds. 


ROUGH  GLASS  MADE  TRANSPARENT.  388 

invite  him  to  meet  the  learned  professors  who  would  be  as- 
sembled at  my  evening  party,  especially  as  I  knew  that  I 
should  be  asked  to  show  my  friends  a  process  with  which  he 
had  assured  me  he  was  so  familiar.  The  unpretending  maker 
of  thermometers  and  barometers  did  however  join  the  party ; 
and  the  kind  and  considerate  manner  in  which  my  guests  of 
the  university  and  of  the  city  treated  him  raised  both  parties 
in  my  estimation. 

I  will  here  mention  another  mode  of  treating  glass,  which 
may  occasionally  be  found  worth  communicating. 

Ground  glass  is  frequently  employed  for  transmitting  light 
into  an  apartment,  whilst  it  e£fectually  prevents  persons  on 
the  outside  from  seeing  into  the  room.  Bough  plate-glass  is 
now  in  verj'  common  use  for  the  same  purpose.  In  both 
these  circumstances  there  is  a  reciprocity,  for  those  who  are 
within  such  rooms  cannot  see  external  forms. 

It  may  in  some  cases  be  desirable  partially  to  remedy  this 
difficulty.  In  my  own  case,  I  cut  with  my  diamond  a  small 
disc  of  window-glassy  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  ce- 
mented it  with  Canada  balsam  to  the  rough  side  of  my  rough 
plate-glass.  I  then  suspended  a  circular  piece  of  card  by  a 
thread,  so  as  to  cx)ver  the  circular  disc  When  the  Canada 
balsam  is  dry,  it  fills  up  all  the  little  inequalities  of  the  rough 
glass  with  a  transparent  substance,  of  nearly  the  same  re- 
fracting power ;  consequently,  on  drawing  aside  the  suspended 
card,  the  forms  of  external  objects  become  tolerably  well 
defined 

The  smooth  surface  of  the  rough  plate-glass,  not  being 
perfectly  flat,  produces  a  slight  distortion,  which  might,  if  it 
were  worth  while,  be  cured  by  cementing  cmother  disc  of 
glass  upon  that  side.  In  case  the  ground  glass  itself  happens 
to  be  plate-glass,  the  image  of  external  objects  is  perfect 


384  THE  CAVES  OP  ADELSBURG. 

Occasionally  T  met,  in  the  course  of  my  travels,  with 
various  things  which,  though  not  connected  with  my  own 
pursuits,  might  yet  be  highly  interesting  to  others.  If  the 
cost  suited  my  purse,  and  the  subject  was  easily  carried,  or  the 
specimen  of  importance,  I  have  in  many  instances  purchased 
them.  Such  was  the  case  with  respect  to  that  curious  creature 
the  proteus  anguineuSy  a  creature  living  only  in  the  waters  of 
dark  caverns,  which  has  eyes,  but  the  eylids  cannot  open. 

When  I  visited  the  caves  of  Adelsburg,  in  Styria,  I  in- 
quired whether  any  of  these  singular  creatures  could  be 
procured.  I  purchased  all  I  could  get,  being  six  in  number. 
I  conveyed  them  in  large  bottles  full  of  river  water,  which  I 
changed  every  night  During  the  greater  part  of  their  journey 
the  bottles  were  placed  in  large  leathern  bags  lashed  to  the 
barouche  seat  of  my  calash. 

The  first  of  these  pets  died  at  Vienna,  and  another  at 
Prague.  After  three  months,  two  only  survived,  and  reached 
Berlin,  where  they  also  died — I  fear  from  my  servant  having 
supplied  them  with  water  from  a  well  instead  of  from  a  river. 

At  night  they  were  usually  placed  in  a  large  wash-hand 
basin  of  water,  covered  over  with  a  napkin. 

They  were  very  excitable  under  the  action  of  light  On 
several  occasions  when  I  have  visited  them  at  mght  with  a 
candle,  one  or  more  have  jumped  out  of  their  watery  home. 

Tliese  rare  animals  were  matters  of  great  interest  to  many 
naturalists  whom  I  visited  in  my  rambles,  and  procured  for 
me  several  very  agreeable  acquaintances.  When  their  gloomy 
lives  terminated  I  preserved  them  in  spirits,  and  sent  the  spe- 
cimens to  the  collections  of  our  own  universities,  to  India,  and 
some  of  our  colonies. 

When  I  was  preparing  materials  for  the  '  Economy  of  Mann- 


GUESSES  AT  MY  VOCATION.  886 

factures,'  I  had  occasion  to  travel  frequently  through  our 
manufacturing  and  mining  districta  On  these  occasions  I 
found  the  travellers'  inn  or  the  travellers*  room  was  usually 
the  best  adapted  to  my  purpose,  both  in  regard  to  economy 
and  to  information.  As  my  inquiries  had  a  wide  range,  I 
found  ample  assistance  in  carrying  them  on.  Nobody  doubted 
that  I  was  one  of  the  craft ;  but  opinions  were  widely  dif- 
ferent as  to  the  department  in  which  I  practised  my  vocation. 

In  one  of  my  tours  I  passed  a  very  agreeable  week  at  the 
Commercial  Hotel  at  Sheffield.  The  society  of  the  travellers* 
room  is  very  fluctuating.  Many  of  its  frequenters  arrive  at 
night,  have  supper,  breakfast  early  the  next  morning,  and 
are  off  soon  after :  others  make  rather  a  longer  stay.  One 
evening  we  sat  up  after  supper  much  later  than  is  usual,  dis- 
cussing a  variety  of  commercial  subjects. 

When  I  came  down  rather  late  to  breakfast,  I  found  only 
one  of  my  acquaintance  of  the  previous  evening  remaining. 
He  remarked  that  we  had  had  a  very  agreeable  party  last 
night,  in  which  I  cordially  concurred.  Ho  referred  to  the 
intelligent  remarks  of  some  of  the  party  in  our  discussion, 
and  then  added,  that  when  I  left  them  they  began  to  talk 
about  me.  I  merely  observed  that  I  felt  myself  quite  safe  in 
their  hands,  but  should  be  glad  to  profit  by  their  remarks. 
It  appeared,  when  I  retired  for  the  night,  they  debated  about 
what  trade  I  travelled  for.  ^Tho  tall  gentleman  in  the 
comer,"  said  my  informant,  '^  maintained  that  you  were  in 
the  hardware  line ;  whilst  the  fat  gentleman  who  sat  next  to 
you  at  supper  was  quite  sure  that  you  were  in  the  spirit 
trade."  Another  of  the  party  declared  that  they  were  both 
mistaken :  he  said  he  had  met  you  before,  and  tliat  you  were 
travelling  for  a  great  iron-master.  "  Well,'*  said  I,  "  you,  1 
presume,  knew  my  vocation  better  than  our  friends." — ^'  Yes,'* 

2o 


386  THE  PHILOSOPHER  FOUND  OUT. 

said  my  informant,  "  I  knew  perfectly  well  that  you  were  in 
the  Nottingham  lace  trade."  The  waiter  now  appeared  with 
his  bill,  and  announced  that  my  friend's  trap  was  at  the  door. 

I  had  passed  nearly  a  week  at  the  Commercial  Inn  without 
having  broken  the  eleventh  commandment ;  but  the  next  day 
I  was  doomed  to  be  found  out.  A  groom,  in  the  gay  livery 
of  the  Fitzwilliams,  having  iruitlessly  searched  for  me  at  all 
the  great  hotels,  at  last  in  despair  thought  of  inquiring  for 
me  at  the  Commercial  Hotel.  The  landlady  was  sure  I  was 
not  staying  in  her  house ;  but>  in  deference  to  the  groom's 
urgent  request,  went  to  make  inquiries  amongst  her  guests. 
I  was  the  first  person  she  questioned,  and  was,  of  course, 
obliged  to  admit  the  impeachment.  The  groom  brought  a 
very  kind  note  fix)m  the  late  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  who  had 
heard  of  my  being  in  Sheffield,  to  invite  me  to  spend  a  week 
at  Wentworth. 

I  gladly  availed  myself  of  this  invitation,  and  passed  it  very 
agreeably.  During  the  few  first  days  the  party  in  the  house 
consisted  of  the  family  only.  Then  followed  three  days  of 
open  house,  when  their  friends  came  from  great  distances, 
even  as  &r  as  sixty  or  eighty  miles,  and  that  at  a  period 
when  railroads  were  unknown. 

On  the  great  day  upwards  of  a  hundred  persons  sat  down 
to  dinner,  a  large  number  of  whom  slept  in  the  house.  This 
was  the  first  time  the  ancient  custom  of  open  house  had  been 
kept  up  at  Wentworth  since  the  death  of  the  former  Earl,  the 
celebrated  Whig  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Yorkshire. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MIRACLES. 

Dififcrcnce  Engine  set  so  as  to  follow  a  given  law  for  a  vast  period — ^Thus 
to  change  to  another  law  of  equally  vast  or  of  greater  duration,  and  so 
on  —  Parallel  between  the  successive  creations  of  animal  life  —  The 
Author  vi8ite<l  Dublin  at  the  first  Meeting  of  the  British  Association — ^Tfl 
the  Guest  of  Trinity  College — Innocently  wears  a  Waistcoat  of  the  wrong 
colour — Is  infonncd  of  the  sad  fact — Rushes  to  a  Tailor  to  rectify  it — 
Finds  nothing  but  party-colours — Nearly  loses  his  Breakfast,  and  is 
thoui;ht  to  bo  an  amazing  Dandy — The  Dean  thinks  better  of  the  Philo- 
sopher, and  accompanied  him  to  Killamey — The  Philosopher  preaches  a 
Sermon  to  the  Divine  by  the  side  of  the  Lake. 

After  that  portion  of  the  Difference  Engine  which  was 
completed  had  been  for  some  months  promoted  from  the  work- 
shop to  my  drawing-room^  I  met  two  of  my  friends  from  Ire- 
land— Dr.  Lloyd,  the  present  Provost  of  Trinity  College,  and 
Dr.  Uobinson,  of  Armagh.  I  invited  them  to  breakfast,  that 
they  might  have  a  fiill  opportunity  of  examining  its  stmcturo. 
I  invited  also  another  fiieud  to  meet  them — the  late  Pro- 
fessor Malthus. 

After  breakfast  we  adjourned  to  the  drawing-room.  I  then 
proceeded  to  explain  the  mechanism  of  the  Engine,  and  to 
cause  it  to  calculate  Tables.  One  of  the  party  remarked 
two  axes  in  front  of  the  machine  which  had  not  hitherto  been 
performing  any  work,  and  inquired  for  what  purpose  tliey 
were  so  plac*ed.  I  informed  him  that  these  axes  had  been  so 
placed  in  order  to  illustrate  a  series  of  calculations  of  tlie 

2c2 


388  LAWS  CHANGING 

most  complicated  kind,  to  which  they  contributed.  I  ob- 
served that  the  Tables  thus  formed  were  of  so  artificial  and 
abstract  a  nature,  that  I  could  not  foresee  the  time  when 
they  would  be  of  any  usa 

This  remark  additionally  excited  their  curiosity,  and  they 
requested  me  to  set  the  machine  at  work  to  compute  such  a 
table. 

Having  taken  a  simple  case  of  this  kind,  I  set  the  Engine 
to  do  its  work,  and  then  told  them — 

That  it  was  now  prepared  to  count  the  natural  numbers ; 
but  that  it  would  obey  this  law  only  as  far  as  the  millionth 
term. 

That  after  that  term  it  would  commence  a  series,  following 
a  different,  but  known  law,  for  a  very  long  period. 

That  after  this  new  law  had  been  fulfilled  for  another  long 
period,  it  would  then  suddenly  abandon  it^  and  calculate  the 
terms  of  a  series  following  another  new  law,  and  so  on  through- 
out all  time. 

Of  course  it  was  impossible  to  verify  these  assertions  by 
making  the  machine  actually  go  through  the  calculations ; 
but>  after  having  made  the  Engine  count  the  natural  numbers 
for  some  time,  I  proceeded  to  point  out  the  fact,  that  it  was 
impossible,  by  its  very  structure,  tliat  the  macliine  could 
record  any  but  the  natural  nimibers  before  it  reached  the 
number  999,990.  This  I  made  evident  to  my  friends,  by 
showing  them  the  actual  structure  of  the  Engine.  Having 
demonstrated  this  to  their  entire  satisfaction,  I  put  the 
machine  on  to  the  number  999,990,  and  continued  to  work 
the  Engine,  when  the  result  I  had  predicted  soon  arrived. 
Afl«r  the  millionth  term  a  new  law  was  taken  up,  and  my 
friends  were  convinced  that  it  must,  from  the  very  strue- 
ture  of  the  machine,  continue  for  a  very  long  time,  and  then 


AT  VERY  DISTANT  INTERVALS.  369 

inevitably  give  place  to  another  new  law,  and  so  on  throngh- 
out  all  time. 

When  they  were  quite  satisfied  about  this  £etct,  I  observed 
that,  in  a  new  engine  which  I  was  then  contemplating,  it 
would  be  possible  to  set  it  so  that — 

1st.  It  should  calculate  a  Table  for  any  given  length  of 
time,  according  to  any  given  law. 

2nd.  That  at  the  termination  of  that  time  it  should  cease 
to  compute  a  Table  according  to  that  law ;  but  that  it  should 
commence  a  new  Table  according  to  any  other  given  law  that 
might  be  desired,  and  should  then  continue  this  computation 
for  any  other  given  period. 

3rd.  That  this  succession  of  a  new  law,  coming  in  and  con- 
tinuing during  any  desired  time,  and  then  giving  place  to 
other  new  laws,  in  endless  but  known  succession,  might  be 
continued  indefinitely. 

I  remarked  tliat  I  did  not  conceive  the  time  ever  could 
arrive  when  the  results  of  such  calculations  would  be  of  any 
utility.  I  added,  however,  that  they  ofiered  a  striking  pa- 
rallel with,  although  at  an  immeasurable  distance  from,  the 
successive  creations  of  animal  life,  as  developed  by  the  vast 
epochs  of  geological  time.  The  flash  of  intellectual  light 
which  illuminated  the  countenances  of  my  three  friends  at 
this  unexpected  juxtaposition  was  most  gratifying. 

Encouraged  by  the  quick  apprehension  with  which  these 
views  had  been  accepted,  I  continued  the  subject,  and  pointed 
out  the  application  of  the  same  reasoning  to  the  nature  of 
miracles. 

The  same  machine  could  be  set  in  such  a  manner  that 
these  laws  might  exist  for  any  assigned  number  of  times, 
whether  large  or  small ;  also,  that  it  was  not  necessary  that 
these  laws  should  be  different,  but  the  same  law  might,  when 


390  MIRACLES  AND  PBOPHECY. 

the  machine  was  set^  be  ordered  to  reappear,  after  any  desired 
interval. 

Thus  we  might  suppose  an  observer  watching  the  machine, 
to  see  a  known  law  continually  fulfilled,  until  after  a  length- 
ened period,  when  a  new  law  has  been  appointed  to  come  in. 
This  new  law  might  after  a  single  instance  cease,  and  the  first 
law  might  again  be  restored,  and  continue  for  another  inter- 
val, when  the  second  new  law  might  again  govern  the 
machine  as  before  for  a  single  instance,  and  then  give  place 
to  the  original  law. 

This  property  of  a  mere  piece  of  mechanism  may  have  a 
parallel  in  the  laws  of  human  life.  That  all  men  die  is  the 
result  of  a  vast  induction  of  instances.  That  one  or  more 
men  at  given  times  shall  be  restored  to  life,  may  be  as  much 
a  consequence  of  the  law  of  existence  appointed  for  man  at 
his  creation,  as  the  appearance  and  reappearance  of  the  iso- 
lated cases  of  apparent  exception  in  the  arithmetical  machine. 

But  the  workings  of  machinery  run  parallel  to  those  of  in- 
tellect. The  Analytical  Engine  might  be  so  set,  that  at  defi- 
nite periods,  known  only  to  its  maker,  a  certain  lever  mi^lit 
become  moveable  during  the  calculations  then  making.  The 
consequence  of  moving  it  might  be  to  cause  the  then  existing 
law  to  be  violated  for  one  or  more  times,  aft«r  which  the  original 
law  would  resiuno  its  reign.  Of  course  the  maker  of  the  Cal- 
culating Engine  might  confide  this  fact  to  the  person  using  it, 
who  would  thus  bo  gifted  with  the  power  of  prophecy  if  he 
foretold  the  event,  or  of  working  a  miracle  at  the  proper  time, 
if  he  witliheld  liis  knowledge  from  those  around  until  the 
moment  of  its  taking  place. 

Such  is  the  analogy  between  the  construction  of  machinery 
to  calculate  and  the  occurrence  of  miracles.  A  further  illus- 
tration may  be  tak(»ii  from  geometry.   Curv(»s  arc  represented 


SINGULAR  POINTS  OF  CURVES.  391 

by  eqnation&  In  certain  curyes  thore  are  portionB,  Buch  as 
ovak,  disconnected  from  the  rest  of  the  curve.  By  properly 
iissigniug  the  values  of  the  constants,  these  ovals  may  be 
reduced  to  single  pointsL  These  singular  points  may  exist 
upon  a  branch  of  a  curve,  or  may  be  entirely  isolated  from  it ; 
yet  these  points  fulfil  by  their  positions  the  law  of  the  curve 
as  perfectly  as  any  of  those  which,  by  their  juxtaposition  and 
continuity,  form  any  of  its  branches. 

Miracles,  therefore,  are  not  the  breach  of  established  laws, 
but  they  are  the  very  circumstances  that  indicate  the  exist- 
ence of  far  higher  laws,  which  at  the  appointed  time  produce 
their  pre-intended  results. 

In  1835,  the  British  Association  visited  Dublin.  I  had 
been  anxious  to  promote  this  visit,  from  political  as  well 
as  scientific  motives.  I  had  several  invitations  to  the 
residences  of  my  friends  in  that  hospitable  country ;  but  I 
thought  I  could  be  of  more  use  by  occupying  apartments  in 
'Trinity  College,  which  had  kindly  been  placed  at  my  disposal 
by  the  provost  and  fellows. 

After  I  liad  enjoyed  the  college  hospitality  during  three  or 
four  days,  I  was  walking  with  an  intimate  friend,  who  sug- 
gested to  me  that  I  was  giving  great  cause  of  oflTence  to  my 
learned  hosts.  Not  having  the  slightest  idea  how  this  could 
have  arisen,  I  anxiously  inquired  by  what  inadvertence  I  had 
done  so.  He  observed  that  it  arose  from  my  dress.  I  looked 
at  the  various  articles  of  my  costume  with  a  critical  eye,  and 
could  discover  nothing  exaggerated  in  any  portion  of  it.  I 
then  begged  my  friend  to  explain  how  I  had  unconsciously 
offended  in  that  respect  He  replied,  "Your  waistcoat  is  of 
a  bright  green."  I  became  still  more  puzzled,  until  he 
renuirked  tliat  I  was  wearing  O'Connell's  c^olours  in  the  midst 
of  the  Protestant  University,  whoso  guest  I  was. 


392  DIFFICULTY  OF  CHOOSING 

I  thanked  my  friend  sincerely,  and  requested  him  to  ac- 
company me  to  my  rooms,  that  I  might  change  the  offending 
waistcoat.  My  travelling  wardrobe  was  not  large,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, we  found  in  it  no  entirely  unobjectionable  waistcoat. 
I  therefore  put  on  an  under-waistcoat  with  a  light-blue  border, 
and  requested  him  to  accompany  me  to  a  tailor's,  that  I 
might  choose  an  inoffensive  colour.  As  I  was  not  to  remain 
long  in  Dublin,  I  wished  to  select  a  waistcoat  which  might  do 
double  service,  as  not  too  gay  for  the  morning,  and  not  too 
dull  for  the  evening. 

On  arriving  at  the  tailor's,  he  placed  before  me  a  profusion 
of  beautiful  silks,  which  I  was  assured  contained  all  the 
newest  and  most  approved  patterns.  Out  of  these  I  selected 
ten  or  a  dozen,  as  best  suiting  my  own  taste.  I  then  requested 
him  to  remove  from  amongst  them  any  which  might  be  con- 
sidered as  a  party  emblem.  He  took  each  of  them  rapidly 
up,  and  tossing  it  to  another  part  of  the  counter,  pronounced 
the  whole  batch  to  appertain  to  one  party  or  the  other. 

Thus  limited  in  my  choice,  I  was  compelled  to  adopt  a 
waistcoat  of  all  work,  of  rather  gayer  colours  than  good  taste 
would  willingly  have  selected  for  morning  use.  I  explained 
to  the  knight  of  the  thimble  my  dilemma.  He  swore  upon 
the  honour  of  his  order  that  the  finished  waistcoat  should  be 
at  my  rooms  in  the  college  punctually  as  the  dock  struck 
eight  the  next  morning. 

During  the  rest  of  the  day  I  buttoned  up  my  coat,  and  the 
broad  light-blue  border  of  my  thin  imder-waistcoat  was  alone 
visible.  My  modesty,  however,  was  a  little  uneasy,  lost  it 
should  be  thought  that  I  was  wearing  the  decoration  of  a 
Guelphic  knight* 

I  rose  early  the  next  morning :  eight  o'clock  arrived,  but 
no  waistcoat.     The  college  breakfast  in  the  hall  was  punctual 


A  DECENT  WAISTCOAT.  393 

at  a  quarter  past  eight ;  8*  20  had  arrived,  but  still  no  waist- 
coat At  last,  at  half-past  eight,  the  squire  of  the  faithless 
knight  of  the  tliimblo  arrived  with  the  vest 

Thus  equipped,  I  rushed  to  the  hall,  and  found  that  my 
college  friends  had  waited  for  my  arrival.  I  explained  to  the 
Dean*  that  I  had  been  detained  by  an  unpunctual  tailor,  who 
had  not  brought  home  my  waistcoat  until  half  an  hour  after 
the  appointed  time.  Wo  then  commenced  the  serious  busi- 
ness which  assembled  us  together.  The  breakfast  was  superb, 
and  the  society  delightful  I  enjoyed  them  both,  being  for- 
tunately quite  unconscious  that  every  eye  was  examining 
the  artistic  and  aesthetic  garment  with  which  I  had  been  so 
recently  invested.  I  tlius  acquired  for  a  time  the  character 
of  a  dandy  of  the  first  water.  It  has  not  unirequently  been 
uiyfate  in  life  to  have  gained  a  character  for  worth  or  worth- 
lessness  upon  grounds  quite  as  absurd,  which  I  have  afterwards 
seldom  taken  the  trouble  to  explain. 

The  Dean,  however,  quickly  saw  through  the  outer  cover- 
ing, and  before  the  meeting  was  over  I  felt  that  a  friendship 
had  commenced  which  time  could  only  strengthen.  One  day, 
whilst  we  were  walking  together,  MacLean  told  me  that  he 
had  heard  with  great  interest  from  one  of  his  colleagues  of 
some  views  of  mine  relative  to  miracles,  which  he  wished 
much  to  hear  £rom  my  own  lips. 

I  remarked  that  the  explanation  of  them  would  require 
much  more  time  than  we  could  afford  during  the  bustle  of 
the  Association ;  but  that  I  should  afterwards,  at  any  quiet 
time,  be  delighted  to  discuss  them  with  him. 

After  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  terminated,  I 
made  a  short  tour  to  visit  some  of  my  friends  in  the  North  of 
Ireland.  On  my  return  to  Dublin  I  again  found  MacLean, 
*  The  Bev.  S.  J.  MacLean,  Fellow  Trin.  ColU  Dublin. 


394  THE  AUTHOR  PREACHES  A 

and  had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy  his  society  in  a  tour  which 
we  took  to  Killamey. 

One  fine  morning,  as  we  were  walking  together,  it  being 
Sunday,  MacLean,  looking  somewhat  doubtfully  at  me,  asked 
whether  I  had  any  objection  to  go  to  church,  I  replied, 
"  None  whatever,"  and  turned  towards  the  church.  Before 
we  reached  it  an  idea  occurred  to  my  mind,  and  I  said, 
"MacLean,  you  asked  me,  in  the  midst  of  the  bustle  at 
Dublin,  about  my  views  respecting  miracles.  Have  you  any 
objection  to  take  a  walk  with  me  by  the  side  of  the  lake,  and 
I  will  give  you  a  sermon  upon  that  subject" — "  Not  the  least," 
replied  my  friend ;  and  we  turned  immediately  towards  the 
banks  of  that  beautiful  lake. 

I  then  proceeded  to  explain  that  those  views  of  the  appa- 
rently successive  creations  opened  out  to  us  by  geology  are 
in  reahty  the  fulfilment  of  one  far  more  comprehensive  law. 
I  pointed  out  that  a  miracle,  instead  of  being  a  violation  of  a 
law,  is  in  fact  the  most  eminent  fulfilment  of  a  vast  law — that 
it  bears  the  same  relation  to  an  apparent  law  that  singular 
points  of  a  curve  bear  to  the  visible  form  of  that  curve.  My 
friend  inquired  whether  I  had  published  anything  upon  these 
subjects.  On  my  answering  in  the  negative,  he  strongly 
wrged  me  to  do  so.  I  remarked  upon  the  extreme  difficulty 
of  making  them  intelligible  to  the  pubUc.  lleverting  again 
to  the  singular  points  of  curves,  I  observed  that  the  illustra- 
tion, which  in  a  few  words  I  had  placed  before  him,  would  be 
quite  unintelligible  even  to  men  of  cultivated  minds  not 
familiar  with  the  doctrine  of  curves. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  a  bench,  on  which  we  sat.  MacLean 
wrapt  up  in  the  new  views  tlius  opened  out  to  his  mind, 
remained  silent  for  a  long  interval.  At  last,  turning  towards 
me,  he  made  these  remarks:  **How  wonderful  it  is!     Here 


SERMON  ON  THE  BANK  OF  KILLABNET.  895 

^'  am  ly  bound  by  the  duties  of  my  profession  to  inquire  into 
"  the  attributes  of  the  Creator ;  bound  still  more  strongly  by  an 
''  intense  desire  to  do  so ;  possessing,  like  yourself,  the  same 
"  powerful  science  to  aid  my  inquiries ;  and  yet>  within  this 
**  last  short  half  hour,  you  have  opened  to  me  views  of  the 
'^  Creator  surpassing  all  of  which  I  have  hitherto  had  any  con- 
"  ception  !'* 

These  views  had  evidently  made  a  very  deep  impression  on 
liis  mind.  Amidst  the  beautiful  scenery  in  the  South  of  Ire- 
land he  frequently  reverted  to  the  subject ;  and,  having  ac- 
companied me  to  Waterford,  offered  to  cross  the  Channel 
with  me  if  I  could  spend  one  single  day  at  Milford  Haven« 

Unfortunately,  long  previous  arrangements  prevented  this 
delay.  I  parted  from  my  friend,  who,  though  thus  recently 
acquired,  seemed,  from  the  coincidence  of  our  thoughts  and 
feelings,  to  have  been  the  friend  of  my  youth.  I  little 
thought,  on  parting,  that  one  whom  I  so  much  admired,  so 
highly  esteemed,  would  in  a  few  short  months  be  separated 
for  ever  from  the  friends  who  loved  him,  and  from  the  society 
ho  adorned. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

BELIGION. 


**  Before  thy  holy  altar,  sacred  Truth, 
I  bow  m  manhood,  as  I  koelt  in  youth ; 

There  let  me  bend  till  this  frail  form  decay, 
And  my  last  accentB  hail  thine  opening  day.* 


The  a  priori  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  Deity — Proof  from  Revelation Dr. 

Johnson's  definition  of  Inspiration — Various  Meanings  assigned  to  the 
word  'Revelation' — Illustration  of  transmitted  Testimony — ITio  third 
source  of  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  Deity — ^By  an  examination  of  His 
Works — Effect  of  hearing  the  Athanasian  Creed  read  for  the  first  time. 

There  are  three  sources  from  which  it  is  stated  that  man  can 
arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  Deity. 

1.  The  d  priori  or  metaphysical  proo£    Such  is  that  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Clarke. 

2.  From  Eevelation. 

3.  From  the  examination  of  the  works  of  the  Creator. 

1.  The  first  of  these,  the  a  priori  proof,  is  of  such  a  nature 
that  it  can  only  be  apprehended  in  a  high  state  of  civilization, 
and  then  only  by  the  most  intellectuaL  Even  amongst  that 
very  limited  class  it  does  not,  as  an  argument,  command 
universal  assent 

2.  The  argument  deduced  from  revelation  is  advanced  in 
many  countries  and  for   several  different  forms  of   fiedth. 


WILFUL  ABUSE  OP  LANGUAGE.  397 

When  it  in  sincerely  adopted  it  deserves  the  most  respectful 
examination.  It  must,  however,  on  the  other  hand,  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  most  scrutinizing  inquiry.  As  long  as  the 
believer  in  any  form  of  revelation  maintains  it  by  evidence  or 
by  argument,  it  is  only  by  such  means  that  it  ought  to  be 
questioned. 

When,  however,  professed  believers  dare  to  throw  doubt 
upon  the  motives  of  those  whose  arguments  they  are  unable 
to  refute,  and  still  more,  when,  availing  themselves  of  the 
imperfections  of  language,  they  apply  to  their  opponents 
epithets  which  they  can  defend  in  one  sense  but  know  will 
be  interpreted  in  another — ^when  they  speak  of  an  adversary 
as  a  disbeliever,  because,  though  he  believes  in  the  same 
general  revelation,  he  doubts  the  accuracy  of  certain  texts, 
or  believes  in  a  different  interpretation  of  others — when  they 
apply  the  term  infidel,  meaning  thereby  a  disbelief  in  their 
own  view  of  revelation,  but  knowing  tliat  it  will  be  under- 
stood as  disbelief  in  a  Deity, — then  it  is  at  least  allowable  to 
remind  them  that  they  are  richly  paid  for  the  support  of  their 
own  doctrines,  whilst  those  they  revile  have  no  such  motives 
to  influence  or  to  mislead  tlieir  judgment 

Before,  however,  wo  enter  upon  that  great  question  it  is 
necessary  to  observe  that  belief  is  not  a  voluntary  operation. 
Belief  is  the  result  of  the  influence  of  a  greater  or  less  pre- 
ponderance of  evidence  acting  upon  the  human  mind. 

It  ought  also  to  be  remarked  that  the  word  revelation 
assumes,  as  a  fact,  that  a  Being  exists  from  whom  it  pro- 
ceeds ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  existence  of  a  Deity  is 
possible  without  any  revelation. 

The  first  question  that  arises  is  the  meaning  of  the  word 
revelation.  In  its  ordinary  acceptation  it  is  said  to  be  a 
direct  communication  from  tlic  Deity  to  an  individual  human 


396  IN8PIBATI0N. 

being.  Dr.  Jdmson  lemarkB : — "  Inspiration  is  wh^i  an 
"  overpowering  impression  of  any  propositions  is  made  upon 
'^  the  mind  by  God  himself,  that  gives  a  convincing  and 
^  indubitable  evidence  of  the  truth  and  divinity  of  it"  Be 
it  so ;  but  then,  as  such,  it  is  not  revelation  to  any  oOier 
human  being.  All  others  receive  it  from  the  stat^nent  of 
the  person  to  whom  the  revelation  was  vouchsafed.  To  all 
others  its  truth  depends  entirely  on  human  testimony.  Now 
in  a  certain  sense  all  our  faculties  being  directly  given  to 
us  by  the  Supreme  Being  might  be  said  to  be  revelationa 
But  this  is  clearly  not  the  religious  meaning  of  the  word.  In 
the  latter  sense  it  is  a  direct  special  communication  of  know- 
ledge to  one  or  more  persons  which  is  not  given  to  the  rest 
of  the  race. 

Before  any  person  can  admit  the  truth  of  a  revelation 
asserted  by  another,  he  must  have  clearly  established  in  his 
own  mind  what  evidence  he  would  require  to  believe  in  a 
special  revelation  to  himself. 

But  when  he  communicates  this  revelation  to  his  fellow- 
creatures  that  which  may  truly  be  a  revelation  to  him  is  not 
revelation  to  them«  It  is  to  them  merely  human  testimony, 
which  they  are  bound  to  examine  more  strictly  from  its  abnor- 
mal nature. 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  this  believer  in  his  own  special 
revelation  oflFers  to  work  a  miracle  in  proof  of  the  truth  of  his 
doctrine,  and  even,  further,  that  he  does  perform  a  miracle. 
Those  who  witness  it  have  now  before  them  fisur  higher  evi- 
dence of  inspiration  than  that  of  the  prophet's  testimony. 
They  have  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses  that  an  act  con- 
trary to  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature  lias  been  performed. 

But  even  here  the  amount  of  conviction  will  be  influenced 
by  the  state  of  knowledge  the  spectator  of  the  miracle  him- 


REVELATION.  399 

self  possesses  of  the  la\v^  of  nature  wliich  he  hdieves  he  has 
thus  seen  violated.* 

Granting  him,  however,  the  most  profound  knowledge,  the 
evidence  influencing  his  own  mind  will  be  inferior  to  that 
which  acts  upon  the  mind  of  the  inspired  worker  of  the 
miracle.  If  there  are  more  witnesses  than  one  thus  qualified, 
this  will  to  a  certain  extent  augment  the  evidence,  although 
a  large  number  might  not  give  it  a  proportional  addition  of 
weight. 

It  would  be  profane  to  compare  evidence  derived  directly 
from  the  Almighty,  which  must  necessarily  be  irresistible, 
with  the  testimony  of  maiC  which  must  always  be  carefully 
weighed  by  taking  into  account  the  state  of  liis  knowledge, 
his  prejudices,  his  interests,  and  his  truthfulness.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  would  lead  to  endless  confusion,  and  be  destruc- 
tive to  all  reasoning  on  the  subject,  to  apply  the  same  word 
'  Bevelation '  to  things  so  different  in  their  nature 


The  immediate  act  of  the  Deity. 

The  impression  produced  by  that  act  on  the  mind  of 
the  person  inspired. 

The  description  of  it  given  by  him  in  the  language  of 
the  people  he  addressed. 

The  record  made  of  his  description  by  those  who 
heard  it. 

The  transmission  of  this  through  various  languages 
and  people  to  the  present  day. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  highest  external  evidence  man 
can  have — the  declaration  of  inspiration  by  the  prophet,  sup- 

*  I  have  adopted  in  the  text  that  view  of  the  nature  of  miracles  which 
prevailed  many  years  ago.  In  1838, 1  published,  in  the  *'  Kinth  Bridgewater 
Treatise,"  my  own  views  on  those  important  subjects — the  nature  of  miracles 
and  of  prophecy.  Tliose  opinions  have  been  received  and  a<ioptcd  by  many 
of  the  most  profound  thinkers  of  very  different  religious  opinions. 


400  TRANSMITTED  TESTIMONY. 

ported  by  an  admitted  miracle  performed  before  competent 
witnesses,  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  inspiration. 

But  to  all  who  were  not  present,  the  evidence  of  this  is 
entirely  dependent  on  the  truth  and  even  upon  the  accuracy 
of  human  tedinumy. 

At  every  step  of  its  transmission  it  undergoes  some  varia- 
tion in  the  words  in  which  it  is  related ;  and  without  the 
least  want  of  good  fedth  at  any  stage,  the  mere  imperfection 
of  language  will  necessarily  vary  the  terms  by  which  it  is 
described.  Even  when  written  language  has  conveyed  it  to 
paper  as  a  MSS.,  there  may  be  several  different  manuscripts 
by  different  persons.  Even  in  the  extraordinary  case  of  two 
MSS.  agreeing  perfectly  there  remains  a  perpetual  source  of 
doubt  as  to  the  exact  interpretation  arising  from  the  conti- 
nually fluctuating  meaning  of  the  words  themselves. 

Few  persons  who  have  not  reflected  deeply,  or  had  a  very 
wide  experience,  are  at  all  aware  of  the  errors  arising  from 
this  source. 

There  is  a  game  occasionally  played  in  society  which 

eminently  illustrates  the  value  of  testimony  transmitted  with 

the  most  perfect  good  faith  through  a  succession  of  truthful 

'persons.     It  is  called  Russian  Scandal,  and  is  thus  played : — 

One  of  the  party  writes  a  short  simple  tale,  perhaps  a 
single  anecdote.  The  original  composer  of  the  tale,  whom  we 
vrill  call  A,  retires  into  another  room  with  B,  to  whom  he 
communicates  it.  A  then  returns  to  the  party,  and  sends  in 
C,  who  is  told  by  B  the  tale  he  had  just  learnt  B  then 
returns  to  the  party  and  sends  in  D,  who  is  informed  of  tlie 
anecdote  by  C,  and  so  on  until  the  story  has  been  transmitted 
through  twelve  educated  and  truthful  witnesses. 

The  twelfth  then  relates  to  the  whole  party  the  story  he  has 
just  heard :  after  that  the  original  written  document  is  read. 


RUSSIAN  SCANDAL.  401 

The  wit  or  fun  of  the  transmitted  story  is  invariably  gone, 
and  nothing  but  an  unmeaning  platitude  generally  remains. 

One  very  interesting  case  occurred  a  few  years  ago  in 
which  the  wit  of  the  original  story  had  evidently  been  lost,  but 
had  afterwards  been  revived  in  a  diflferent  form  in  the  latter 
part  of  its  transmission.  The  story  at  starting  consisted  of 
the  following  anecdote : — 

The  Duke  of  Rutland  and  Theodore  Hook  having  dined 
with  the  Lord  Mayor,  were  looking  for  their  hats  previously 
to  their  departure.  The  Duke,  unable  to  find  his  own,  said  to 
his  friend :  "  Hook,  I  have  lost  my  castor."  The  Lord  Chief 
Baron,  Sir  Frederick  Pollock,  was  at  that  moment  passing 
down  the  stairs.  Hook  perceiving  him,  replied  instantly, 
"  Never  mind,  take  Pollock's  "  (Pollux). 

The  story  told  at  the  conclusion,  after  a  dozen  transmissions, 
was  thus : — 

Theodore  Hook  and  the  Duke  of  Rutland  were  dining  with 
the  Bishop  of  Oxford.  Both  being  equally  incapable  of  finding 
their  respective  hats,  the  Duke  said  to  the  wit,  "  Hook,  you 
have  stolen  my  castor."  "  No,"  replied  the  prince  of  jokers, 
"  I  haven't  stolen  your  castor,  but  I  should  have  no  objection 
to  take  your  beaver ;"  alluding  to  Belvoir  Castle,  the  splendid 
seat  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  which  in  the  language  of  the 
day  is  pronounced  precisely  in  the  same  way  as  the  name  of 
that  animal  whom  man  robs  of  his  great-coat  in  order  to 
make  a  covering  for  his  own  skulL 

It  requires  considerable  training  to  become  an  accurate 
witness  of  facts.  No  two  persons,  however  well  trained,  ever 
express,  in  the  same  form  of  words,  the  series  of  facts  they 
have  both  observed. 

3.  There  remains  a  third  source  from  which  we  arrive  at 

2d 


402     THE  BELIEF  IN  THE  CREATOR  FROM  HIS  WORKS. 

the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Creator,  namely, 
from  an  examination  of  his  works.  Unlike  transmitted  testi- 
mony, which  is  weakened  at  every  stage,  this  evidence  deriyes 
confirmation  bom  the  progress  of  the  individual  as  well  as 
from  the  advancement  of  the  knowledge  of  the  race. 

Almost  all  thinking  men  who  have  studied  the  laws  which 
govern  the  animate  and  the  inanimate  world  around  us, 
agree  that  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  one  Supremo 
Creator,  possessed  of  infinite  wisdom  and  power,  is  open  to  far 
less  diflBculties  than  the  supposition  of  the  absence  of  any 
cause,  or  of  the  existence  of  a  plurality  of  causes. 

In  the  works  of  the  Creator  ever  open  to  our  examination, 
we  possess  a  firm  basis  on  which  to  raise  the  superstructure  of 
an  enlightened  creed.  The  more  man  inquires  into  the  laws 
which  regulate  the  material  universe,  the  more  he  is  con- 
vinced that  all  its  varied  forms  arise  from  the  action  of  a  few 
simple  principles.  These  principles  themselves  converge,  with 
accelerating  force,  towards  some  still  more  comprehensive 
law  to  which  all  matter  seems  to  be  submitted.  Simple  as 
that  law  may  possibly  be,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is 
only  one  amongst  an  infinite  number  of  simple  laws:  that 
each  of  these  laws  has  consequences  at  least  as  extensive  as 
the  existing  one,  and  therefore  that  the  Creator  who  selected 
the  present  law  must  have  foreseen  the  consequences  of  all 
other  laws. 

The  works  of  the  Creator,  ever  present  to  our  senses,  give  a 
living  and  perpetual  testimony  of  his  power  and  goodness  far 
surpassing  any  evidence  transmitted  through  human  testimony. 
The  testimony  of  man  becomes  fainter  at  every  stage  of  trans- 
mission, whilst  each  new  inquiry  into  the  works  of  the 
Almighty  gives  to  us  more  exalted  views  of  his  wisdom,  his 
goodnnas,  and  his  power. 


THE  ATHANA8IAN  CREED.  403 

When  I  was  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years  of  age,  I 
heard,  or  rather  I  attended,  for  the  first  time,  to  the  words  of 
the  Athanasian  Creed.  I  felt  the  utmost  disgust  at  the  direct 
contradiction  in  terms  which  its  words  implied ;  and  during 
seyeral  weeks  I  recurred,  at  intervals,  to  the  Prayer-Book  to 
assure  myself  that  I  rightly  remembered  its  singular  and  self- 
contradictory  assertions.  On  inquiry  amongst  my  seniors,  I 
was  assured  that  it  was  all  true,  and  that  it  was  part  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  that  it  was  most  wicked  to  doubt  a 
single  sentence  of  it.  Whereupon  I  was  much  alarmed, 
seeing  that  I  found  it  absolutely  impossible  to  believe  it,  and 
consequently,  if  it  wore  an  essential  dogma,  I  clearly  did  not 
belong  to  that  faith. 

In  the  course  of  my  inquiries,  I  met  with  the  work  upon  the 
Trinity,  by  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke.  This  I  carefully  examined, 
and  although  very  far  from  being  satisfied,  I  ceased  from 
further  inquiry.  This  change  arose  probably  from  my  having 
acquired  the  much  more  valuable  work  of  the  same  author, 
on  the  Being  and  Attributes  of  Grod.  This  I  studied,  and  felt 
that  its  doctrine  was  much  more  intelligible  and  satisfactory 
tlian  that  of  the  former  work.  I  may  now  state,  as  the  result 
of  a  long  life  spent  in  studying  the  works  of  the  Creator,  that 
I  am  satisfied  they  afford  far  more  satisfiactory  and  more  con- 
vincing proofs  of  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Being  than  any 
evidence  transmitted  through  human  testimony  can  possibly 
supply. 

If  I  were  to  express  my  opinion  of  the  Athanasian  Creed  , 
merely  from  my  experience  of  the  motives  and  actions  of 
mankind,  I  should  say  that  it  was  written  by  a  clever,  but 
most  unscrupulous  person,  who  did  not  believe  one  syllable  of 
the  doctrine, — that  he  purposely  asserted  and  reiterated  pro- 
I)ositions  which  contradict  each  other  in  terms,  in  order  that 

2d2 


404  THE  BASIS  OF  VIRTUE  IS  TRUTH. 

in  after  and  more  enlightened  times,  he  shpuld  not  be  sup- 
posed to  have  believed  in  the  religion  which  he  had,  from 
worldly  motives,  adopted. 

The  Athanasian  Creed  is  a  direct  contradiction  in  terms : 
if  three  things  can  be  one  thing,  then  the  whole  science  of 
arithmetic  is  at  once  annihilated,  and  those  wonderful  laws, 
which,  as  astronomers  have  shown,  govern  the  solar  system,  are 
mere  dreams.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  attempted  to  be 
shown  that  there  may  be  some  mystic  sense  in  which  three 
and  one  are  the  same  thing,  then  all  language  through  which 
alone  man  can  exert  his  reasoning  faculty  becomes  useless, 
because  it  contradicts  itself  and  is  untrue.* 

The  great  basis  of  virtue  in  man  is  trtUh — that  is,  the  con- 
stant application  of  the  same  word  to  the  same  thing. 

The  first  element  of  accurate  knowledge  is  number — ^the 
foundation  and  the  measure  of  all  he  knows  of  the  material 
world. 

I  believe  these  views  of  the  Athanasian  Creed  are  by  no 
means  singular, — that  they  are  indeed  very  generally  held, 
although  very  rarely  asserted.  If  such  is  the  case,  it  were  wise 
to  take  the  opportunity  which  the  new  Commission  for  the 
revision  of  the  Liturgy  presents,  to  remove  from  the  Rubric 
doctrines  so  thoroughly  destructive  of  all  true  religion,  and 
about  which  the  author,  doubtless  in  mockery,  so  compla- 
cently teUs  us,  that  whosoever  does  not  believe  them  "  without 
doubt,  he  shall  perish  everlastingly." 

The  true  value  of  the  Christian  religion  rests,  not  upon 
speculative  views  of  the  Creator,  which  must^  necessarily 
be  diflferent  in  each  individual,  according  to  the  extent  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  finite  being,  who  employs  his  own  feeble 
powers  in  contemplating  the  infinite  :  but  it  rests  upon  thoee 
•  See  Appendix,  Note  B. 


IDENTITY  DEPENDS  ON  MEMORY.  405 

doctrines  of  kindness  and  benevolence  which  that  religion 
claims  and  enforces,  not  merely  in  favour  of  man  himself,  but 
of  every  creature  susceptible  of  pain  or  of  liappiness. 

A  curious  reflection  presents  itself  when  we  meditate  upon 
a  state  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  a  future  life.  We 
must  possess  the  memory  of  what  we  did  dnrinp^  our  existence 
upon  this  earth  in  order  to  give  them  those  characteristics. 

In  fact,  memory  seems  to  be  the  only  faculty  which  must 
of  necessity  be  preserved  in  order  to  render  a  future  slate 
possible. 

If  memory  be  absolutely  destroyed,  our  personal  identity  is 
lost 

Further  reflection  suggests  that  in  a  future  state  we  may,  as 
it  were,  awake  to  the  recollection  that,  previously  to  this  our 
present  life,  we  existed  in  some  former  state,  possibly  in  many 
former  ones,  and  that  the  then  state  of  existence  may  have 
been  the  consequences  of  our  conduct  in  those  former  stages. 

It  would  be  a  very  interesting  research  if  naturalists  could 
devise  any  means  of  showing  that  the  dragon-fly,  in  its  three 
stages  of  a  grub  beneath  the  soil — an  animal  living  in  the 
water — and  that  of  a  flying  insect — had  in  the  last  stage  any 
memory  of  its  existence  in  its  first 

Another  question  connected  with  this  subject  offers  still 
greater  difficulty.  Man  possesses  five  sources  of  knowledge 
through  liis  senses.  He  proudly  thinks  himself  the  highest 
work  of  the  Almighty  Architect ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  that 
he  may  be  the  very  lowest  If  other  animab  possess  senses 
of  a  different  nature  from  ours,  it  can  scarcely  be  possible 
that  we  could  ever  be  aware  of  the  fact.  Yet  tliose  animals, 
having  other  sources  of  information  and  of  pleasure,  might, 
though  despise<l  by  us,  yet  enjoy  a  corporeal  as  well  as  an 
intellectual  existence  far  higher  than  our  own. 


CHAPTER  XXXL 


A  VISION. 


How,  when,  and  where  this  vision  occurred  it  is  mmecesBaiy 
for  me  at  present  to  state.  It  did  not  arise  under  the  action 
of  the  laughing-gas  or  of  chloroform,  but  by  some  much 
more  real  and  immediate  spiritual  action.  I  had  no  per- 
ception of  body  or  of  matter,  yet  I  felt  that  I  was  in  the 
presence  of  a  reasoning  being  of  a  different  order  from  man. 
Language  was  not  the  means  of  our  communication ;  yet  it 
became  necessary,  in  order  to  be  intelligible,  when  I  wrote 
down  the  facts  immediately  after  that  singular  event — but 
language  itself  is  quite  insufficient  to  give  an  adequate  idea 
of  its  immense  apparent  duration. 

The  first  difficulty  I  felt  in  this  communion  with  an  un- 
earthly Spirit  was  the  notion  of  space.  Our  views  of  it 
differed  widely.  On  many  points,  as,  for  instance,  measure, 
we  apprehended  each  other  perfectly,  for  each  referred  to 
the  height  of  an  individual  of  his  own  race— of  course  about 
six  feet.  At  last  I  discovered  that  my  idea  of  space,  which 
was  founded  upon  vacuity,  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  that 
of  the  Spirit,  which  was  based  upon  solidity.  I  will  now, 
as  far  as  I  can,  place  before  my  reader  the  information  I 
received. 

The  first  desii-e  I  expressed  to  the  Spirit  was  to  learn,  if 
possible,  his  view  of  the  origin  of  aU  things.     He  stated  that 


THE  CONSEQUENCES  OF  DOUBT.  407 

the  records  of  his  race,  which  he  declared  was  the  highest  in 
creation,  went  back,  with  great  certainty,  for  myriads  of 
years  before  all  other  created  beings :  that  previously  to  this, 
their  history  was  somewhat  obscure,  but  had  recently  been 
placed  upon  a  much  surer  footing  by  some  of  their  most 
prominent  Spirits. 

(a.)  In  the  beginning  all  space  was  fluid — f^parently  one 
universal  whitish  liquid  extended  in  all  directions  through 
what  we  should  call  space ;  so  I  thought  at  first  that  this  might 
have  some  relation  to  the  '^  milky  way.**  its  temperature 
was  considerable ;  and  in  about  every  thousand  years  a  torrent 
of  this  fluid,  of  a  still  higher  temperature,  passed  through 
space  with  a  kind  of  gushing  rush.  It  was  peopled  by 
myriads  of  happy  spirits  floating  about  in  it 

After  long  ages  of  happiness  a  dispute  arose  between  two 
Spirits  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  matter  under 
any  other  form  than  that  of  a  fluid.  The  Power  which 
controlled  their  destiny,  justly  angry  at  their  presumption, 
threw  into  the  fluid  a  very  small  piece  of  what,  as  far  as 
I  could  understand,  was  like  organic  matter. 

(h.)  The  efiect  was  astounding :  all  the  fluid  in  contact  with 
this  intrusive  piece  of  matter  gradually  lost  its  fluidity,  and  a 
new  state  of  matter  or  of  space  arose  which  had  been  un- 
known in  all  past  time.  The  change  advanced  slowly  but 
certainly,  on  every  side  of  the  intruded  matter.  In  its  new 
form,  as  far  as  I  could  make  out,  space  became  elastic  gela- 
tinous matter.  The  two  quarrelsome  Spirits  were  the  first 
to  be  surrounded  in  it  None  in  Uie  immediate  presence  of 
this  new  kind  of  space  could  move  away,  and  absorption  went 
on  rapidly  imprisoning  millions  of  beings. 

A  great  controversy  arose  as  to  tlie  state  of  those  embedded 
i  u  the  jelly.   Some  supposed  that  they  were  misembly  squeezed, 


408  SPACE  TOO  LARGE  FOR  ITSELF. 

and  maintained  that  they  deserved  to  be  thoroughly  wretched. 
Whilst  others  asserted,  that  being  entirely  relieved  from 
movement,  theirs  must  be  a  state  of  perfect  blessedness,  their 
whole  faculties  being  absorbed  in  contemplation.  In  the 
midst  of  these  discussions  the  process  of  jellification  was 
advancing  more  and  more  rapidly,  and  in  ten  thousand  years 
the  whole  of  infinite  fluidity  throughout  all  space,  with  all 
its  myriads  of  Beings  embedded  in  it,  was  transformed  into 
this  new  form  of  space.  From  the  description  conveyed  to 
me  by  the  Spirit,  I  should  infer  that  the  whole  of  what  we 
call  infinite  space  had  now  become  more  nearly  like  hlane- 
mange  than  any  other  sub-aerial  substance. 

(c)  After  a  state  of  repose  of  many  hundred  thousand  years 
a  new  catastrophe  occurred.  Space  became  too  large  even 
for  itself.  It  then  suffered,  for  many  hundred  thousand 
years,  enormous  compression.  During  this  long  period  all 
its  embedded  Spirits  perished,  and  space  itself,  during  six 
himdred  thousand  years,  became  one  vast  and  solid  desert^ 
containing  no  living  beings. 

But  the  vast  periods  of  the  past  were  as  nothing  compared 
with  the  long  series  of  cycles  which  now  succeeded — each 
in  itself  comprising  millions  of  years. 

About  this  time  recorded  history  began,  and  is  believed,  by 
the  Spirit  with  whom  I  was  in  conference,  to  be  as  authentic 
as  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  admit 

One  solitary  survivor  seems  to  have  escaped  the  crash  of 
systems  and  the  condensation  of  space.  He  proceeded  to  cut 
himself  into  two  parts,  and  to  advise  each  part  to  follow  out 
the  same  course,  directing  them  to  transmit  the  command  of 
their  first  parent  throughout  all  time.  Alone,  in  the  midst  of 
infinite  solidity,  the  newly-severed  beings,  setting  themselves 
back  to  back,  exerted  foix*e.     Thus  urged,  matter  itself  gave 


CONVERSION  OP  ATTICS  INTO  CELLARS.  409 

way,  and  they  occupied  an  elongated  hollow  space.  Then 
again  bisecting  themselves,  they  further  lengthened  the  path. 
After  ten  thousand  years  they  began  to  exert  their  energies 
in  the  transverse  directions  of  that  path,  and  thus  widened  it. 
The  race  then  began  to  form  chambers,  each  for  himself,  into 
which  he  might  retire  for  abstruse  calculations,  the  nature  of 
which  seemed  almost  beyond  the  remotest  reach  of  utility, 
although  not  beyond  the  power  of  the  Analytical  Engine. 
Thus  vast  cities,  as  it  were,  became  formed,  penetrating  in 
every  direction  through  solid  space. 

(d.)  After  millions  of  years  of  industry  quietness  and  calcula- 
tions, a  most  extraordijiary  catastrophe  occurred.  It  was  with 
the  greatest  diflSculty  that  I  could  discover  its  nature,  or  how 
to  explain  it  in  ordinary  language.  The  nearest  approach  I 
can  make  towards  its  explanation  is  this : — It  seemed,  from 
what  my  spiritual  informant  commmucated,  that  the  whole 
universe  was  lift<?d  up  bodily,  and  then  borne  rapidly  back 
with  a  great  shock,  thus  disarranging  everything,  and  destroy- 
ing millions  of  their  race. 

But  the  most  incomprehensible  part  of  this  historic  narra- 
tion was,  that  on  the  survivors  recovering  their  senses,  they 
found  that  everything  which  had  formerly  been  on  their  right 
hand  was  now  on  their  left.  They  also  observed,  to  their  still 
greater  dismay,  that  every  abode  in  the  universe  was  turned 
topsy-turvy,  so  that  the  surviving  philosophers,  who  had 
retired  to  their  attics  to  study,  suddenly  found  themselves  in 
their  cellars. 

I  have  conveyed,  as  carefully  as  the  nature  of  the  subject 
admits,  the  impressions  this  relation  made  upon  me^  some- 
times assisted  in  my  slow  apprehensions  by  another  unem- 
bodied  Spirit,  whom,  to  distinguish  from  the  relator,  I  shall 
call  Mathesis. 


410  THE  TRUE  USE  OP  FIGURES. 

Whenever  a  man  can  get  hold  of  numbers,  they  are  in- 
valuable :  if  correct,  they  assist  in  informing  his  own  mind, 
but  they  are  still  more  useful  in  deluding  the  minds  of  others. 
Numbers  are  the  masters  of  the  weak,  but  the  slaves  of  the 
strong.  I  therefore  earnestly  pressed  for  more  exact  informal 
tion  as  to  the  possible  number  of  years;  but  it  appeared 
beyond  the  Spirit's  power  to  estimate  it,  even  within  a  few 
millions.  He  mentioned  incidentally  that  the  last  vast  period 
he  had  just  described  was  merely  one  of  many  others  of 
similar  extent:  also,  that  though  these  periods  were  not 
actually  equal,  the  difference,  which  even  in  extreme  cases 
only  reached  a  hundred  thousand  years,  was  not  worth  con- 
sidering. 

To  gratify  my  longing  desire  for  information  on  this  meet 
important  subject,  the  Spirit  proceeded  to  inform  me  that 
their  histories  recorded  a  large  number  of  these  successive 
catastrophes,  and  that  they  were  succeeded  by  a  new  and 
more  terrible  one,  which  he  was  proceeding  to  explain,  when 
I  interrupted  him  by  asking  for  an  approximate  estimate  of 
their  number.  Aware  of  my  anxious  desire  for  numerical 
accuracy,  he  said  he  could,  in  this  one  instance,  gratify  it 
fully.  "  If  there  is,"  said  my  informant,  "  any  one  point 
**  better  established  than  all  others,  it  is  that  there  had  oc- 
"  curred  exactly  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  of  these  avatars 
"  of  destruction." 

I  now  felt  as  if  I  had  discovered  one  solitary  fixed  point  in 
the  vast  chaos  of  time.  My  guide  described  to  me  that,  after 
the  termination  of  this  system  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  cycles,  a  new  and  more  terrific  system  of  events  fol- 
lowed each  other. 

First,  however,  he  said  he  must  mention  an  interreg- 
num, irregular  in  its  progress,  but  still  of  vast  duration; 


VARIOUS  SHAKES  AND  SMASHES.  411 

iu  fact,  some  of  his  race  had  beon  able  to  prove  that  it 
occupied  at  least  three  times  as  long  as  any  one  of  those  just 
described. 

(e.)  It  commenced  by  a  motion  very  like  that  to  which 
space  itself  had  been  submitted  at  the  end  of  each  ayatar, 
finishing  with  a  smash,  and  followed  by  a  period  of  repose 
of  about  ten  thousand  years.  It  howeyer  differed  from  those 
avatars  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  inversion  of  the  position  of 
cellar  and  attic. 

(/.)  A  new  form  of  shaking  of  universal  solid  space  now 
arose,  much  more  frequent  but  less  destructive  than  the 
former.  It  occurred  about  once  in  two  years,  and  was  re- 
peated many  hundred  thousand  times. 

iff')  Again  a  period  exactly  similar  to  that  recorded  in 
(e)  occurred. 

(A.)  This  was  followed  by  a  long  series  of  movements  of  all 
solidity,  approaching,  as  far  as  I  could  understand  it,  to  an 
oscillating  or  wave  motion.  This  continued  without  inter- 
mission during  exactly  three  of  those  cycles  whose  precise 
number  had  been  preserved. 

(t.)  During  the  whole  of  this  period  there  was  a  great  de- 
struction of  the  race.  A  miiversal  sickness  arose  and  con- 
tinued more  or  less,  so  that  multitudes  actually  perished,  and 
those  who  escaped  could  scarcely  carry  on  the  ordinary  calcu- 
lations necessary  for  their  existenca 

(j.)  Another  period  followed,  ending  with  a  smash  exces- 
sively like  (e). 

(k.)  Then  followed  a  period  of  shaking  like  that  in  (/). 

(L)  Then  another  smash  like  (e). 

(m.)  Period  of  long  repose. 

After  this  came  a  long  state  of  absolute  rest. 

Such  was  the  dawn  of  the  most  terrible,  as  well  as  the 


412  A  OOMKISSIOX  SENT  TO  EXPLOBEL 

most  recent,  of  these  Tast  changes  m  the  nnirene  which  had 
been  so  well  related  by  my  ethereal  gnide. 

(n.)  The  temperature  of  the  nniyerse  had  been  nniform 
thionghont  many  millions  of  years:  it  now  began  to  change  in 
differ»[Kt  isolated  placea  Increased  cold  in  some  parts  droye 
the  inhabitants  from  their  dwellings.  This  was  followed  by 
torrents  of  inyisible  air,  bringing  infection  and  death  to 
millions  of  their  race.  Public  opinion  was  ronsed,  and  their 
academies  of  science  and  of  arts  were  urged  to  deyise 
a  remedy.  An  expeditH)n  was  sent  by  their  school  of 
Science  and  of  Geology  to  endeayour  to  trace  the  origin  of 
this  plague. 

The  Commission,  after  long  inyestigation,  reported  that  they 
had  penetrated  solid  space  in  their  usual  way,  putting  each 
other  back  to  back,  and  pressing  the  foremost  forward.  It 
also  stated  that  one  of  them  had  invented  a  method  of 
arrangement  of  the  members  in  a  kind  of  wedge  form,  which 
they  found  much  more  eflfective  for  their  object.  The  result 
of  this,  however,  was  that  the  leader  of  the  column  got  so 
Bdany  squeezes,  that  all  their  best  Spirits  declined  a  position 
for  which  coarser  animals  were  better  fitted.  Consequently, 
most  of  their  Presidents  of  scientific  bodies  were  selected  from 
what  we  should  call  the  **  Demi-monde  "  of  science. 

The  first  report  of  this  Commission  stated  that,  after  pene- 
trating space  (by  pushing)  through  many  thousand  miles, 
they  had  reached  the  cause  of  all  the  evil.  They  had  ascer- 
tained that  it  arose  from  the  fact  they  had  discovered, — ^that 
space  itself  was  discontinuous : — that  they  had  reached  a  spot 
where  there  was  a  kind  of  chasm  in  it,  into  which  some  of 
them  tumbled,  and  were  with  diflSculty  extricated : — in  fact 
they  reported  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  send  proper  persons 
to  fill  up  this  chasm  in  order  to  restore  the  universe  to  health. 


WELL  FED  AND  WELL  PAID  ON  RETURN.  413 

Great  rejoicings  were  made  on  the  return  of  this  Com- 
mission. Public  meetings  wore  held,  speeches  were  made, 
papers  were  read,  and  medals  were  lavished.  Those  who 
had  interest  used  their  services  on  this  committee  to  justify 
their  promotion,  each  in  his  own  different  line.  Those  who 
had  no  interest  as  well  as  those  who  had,  were  anointed 
daily  during  twelve  months  with  what  I  can  but  very  im- 
perfec^tly  describe  by  calling  it  lip-salve.  All  this  while  they 
were  fed  at  the  public  expense  with  royal  foody  which  was 
highly  coveted;  but  as  far  as  I  could  make  out,  its  taste 
must  have  been  somewhat  intermediate  between  rancid  butter 
and  flummery.  Whatever  this  may  have  been,  they  relished 
it  highly,  and  in  truth  it  seems  to  have  been  well  suited  to 
their  organs  of  digestion. 

Time,  however,  went  on ;  the  pestilence  increased.  Strange 
reports  arose :  first,  that  space  itself  was  decaying ;  tlien,  that 
there  existed  somewhere  in  decayed  space  an  immense 
dragon  whose  breath  produced  the  pestilence,  and  who  swal- 
lowed up  thousands  of  Spirits  at  each  mouthful. 

Another  Commission  was  sent,  with  instructions  to  fill  up 
the  hole  in  space.  Tins  was  supposed  to  be  a  great  step  in 
advance.  Having  penetrated  a  very  short  distance  beyond 
the  celebrated  chasm,  they  found  another  just  like  it,  and  on 
the  same  level  They  found  the  first  chasm  slightly  curved, 
which  had  indeed  been  remarked  by  an  unpretending  member 
of  the  former  Commission :  but  so  simple  a  remark  was  not 
thought  worth  reporting.  The  second  chasm  also  was  found 
slightly  curved,  but  its  curvature  was  in  an  opposite  direction, 
presenting  rudely  the  appearance  of  two  parentheses,  thus 
(  ).  Upon  tliis  discovery  the  Commission  were  inclined 
to  return  and  report  that  a  series  of  chasms  occurred  in 
advance  of  the  first,  and  that  it  would  be  useless — indeed. 


414  THE  MODEL  CHAIBIIAN. 

that  it  would  be  highly  dangerous — to  open  more  chaama. 
One  of  the  most  modest  of  the  Commisaionera,  who  had  been 
snubbed  on  the  former  occasion,  suggested,  however,  that 
these  slightly-cunred  chasms  might  possibly  be  portions  ci 
some  Tast  circular  crack :  an  idea  which  was  ridiculed  as  a 
wild  hj'pothesis  by  the  chairman,  quizzed  by  the  secretary, 
and  laughed  at  by  all  the  rest.  Fortunately  they  were  per- 
suaded to  excavate  a  few  yards  more  on  the  second  vertical 
chasm  or  crack,  when  it  became  probable  that  the  single 
dissentient  was  right  It  soon  became  certain,  and  before 
half  the  circle  had  been  uncovered,  each  member  of  the  com- 
mission thought  he  had  himself  been  the  first  to  discover  its 
circular  shape. 

But  the  chairman  was  a  person  of  large  experience.  He 
quietly  left  the  Commissioners  to  fight  amongst  themselves 
about  the  discovery  of  the  circle,  and  if  they  chose,  even  about 
its  quadrature.  On  his  return,  however,  he  reported  that 
from  some  very  extensive  calculations  of  his  own  he  had 
anticipated  an  elliptic  cavity ;  that  he  had  directed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Commissioners  to  the  subject ;  and  that  they  had 
succeeded  in  verifying  his  prediction.  He  also  stated  that 
the  same  theory  led  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  fact,  that 
in  certain  cases  the  eUipse  might  approach  very  nearly  to  a 
circle,  although  it  could  never  actually  reach  it,  whilst  on 
the  other  hand  it  might  become  so  flat  as  to  approach  a 
straight  line — ^an  approximation  to  which  nobody  ever  sug- 
gested that  the  chairman  himself  could  have  attained.  The 
cliairman  then,  with  singular  modesty,  alluding  in  his  report 
to  one  of  his  colleagues  possessing  high  rank,  great  influence 
and  a  very  moderate  knowledge  of  science,  remarked  tliat  it 
was  fortunate  for  him  (the  chairman)  that  that  distinguished 
member  had  been  so  fully  occupied  with  much  more  valuable 


THE  COMMISSIONERS  OUT-MAN(EUVRED.  415 

inyestigatioDSy  otherwise  he  would  certainly  have  anticipated 
the  important  discovery  it  had  fallen  to  his  own  lot  to  make. 

In  the  meantime  the  Commissioners,  who  had  each  wished 
to  appropriate  to  himself  the  discovery  of  the  circle,  now 
thought  that  this  usurpation  of  it  by  their  chairman  was  most 
unjust  towards  the  unpretending  member  who  had  really 
made  it  They  therefore  advised  him  to  claim  his  o^ii  dis- 
covery, and  promised  to  back  him  in  asserting  it. 

But  their  chairman  really  was  a  clever  feHoto^*  and  deep 
as  Silurian  rocks.  Aware  of  the  importance  of  the  discovery 
thus  appropriated,  he  had  already  visited  the  modest  Com- 
missioner— had  overwhelmed  him  with  compliments,  and  had 
also  prevailed  upon  that  other  influential  Commissioner  whom 
he  liad  so  well  buttered  in  his  Report,  to  give  him  a  small 
[)iece  of  preferment,  which  had  been  accepted  by  his  victim : 
— thus  putting  a  padlock  upon  his  lips,  wliich  his  brother 
Commissioners  were  unable  either  to  unlock  or  to  pick. 

After  the  Iteport  was  presented,  more  speeches  were  made 
— more  medals  given,  but  the  plague  continued,  and  their 
universe  was  depopulated. 

A  third  Commission  was  afterwards  sent,  who  reported  that 
they  found  at  the  spot  previously  reached,  on  either  side, 
two  vast  circles,  the  diameter  of  each  of  which  was  one 
hundred  times  the  height  of  an  ordinary  individual ;  that  the 
material  occupying  space  within  the  circle  differed  slightly 
from  tliat  witiiout  it;  and  tliat  it  appeared  as  if  a  vast 
cylinder  of  space  had  been  pushed  through  without  disturbing 
the  matter  external  to  it  They  also  reported  that  the  foi-mer 
Commissioners  had  never  approached  the  origin  of  the  mis- 
chief, but  had  simply  worked  their  way,  at  right  angles,  to  a 

•  A  drver  fellow  may  occasionally  snatch  our  applause;  but  a  devcr 
niati  can  alone  command  our  respect. 


416  DISTURBED  VISION, 

line  which  might  terminate  in  it  at  the  distance  of  a  thousand 
miles,  more  or  less,  either  on  the  right  or  on  the  left  hand  of 
the  point  they  had  reached. 

At  this  moment  a  sound  like  the  roll  of  distant  thunder 
recalled  me  to  this  lower  world,  and  interrupted  my  interest- 
ing communion  with  the  world  of  Spirits.  That  noise  arose 
from  the  chimes  of  the  cathedral  clock.  Spending  a  few 
days  at  Salisbury,  I  had  wandered  into  the  cathedral,  and 
being  much  fatigued,  had  selected  the  luxurious  pew  of  the 
Dean  as  a  place  of  temporary  rest.  Eeposing  on  elastic 
cushions,  with  my  head  resting  on  an  eider-down  pillow,  the 
vision  I  have  related  had  taken  place. 

On  removing  the  piUow  I  observed  a  small  piece  of  matter 
beneath  it  This,  upon  examination,  turned  out  to  be  a  mor- 
sel of  decayed  Gloucester  cheese.  The  whole  vision  was  now 
very  clearly  explained.  The  verger  had  evidently  retired  to 
the  most  commodious  pew  to  eat  his  dinner,  and  had  inad- 
vertently left  the  small  bit  of  cheese  upon  the  very  spot  I  had 
selected  for  my  temporary  repose.  It  was  clear  that  my 
Spirit  had  been  put,  en  rapport,  with  the  soul  of  a  mite,  one 
of  the  most  cultivated  of  his  race. 

If  the  reader  will  glance  over  the  following  brief  explana- 
tion, he  will  be  fully  convinced  that  my  solution  of  this  vision 
is  the  true  one. 

Parallel  Passages  in  the  Creation  of  the  Universe  and  in  the 

Birth  and  Educaiion  of  a  Gloucester  Cheese. 
Beferences. 

a.  Milk  gushing  into  the  milk-pail  at  the  rate  of  twenty 

gushes  per  minute.     Alternations  of  greater  and 
less  heat. 

b.  Ilennet  being  thrown  in,  the  milk  curdles. 

c.  Curds  compressed  into  cheese. 


EXPLANATION.  417 

Beferonces. 

d.  Cheese  tarned  over  daily  during  121  days. 

A  few  minutes*  difference  in  the  time  of  the  dairy- 
man's attendance  to  perform  this  operation  made 
the  days  slightly  unequal 

e.  Cheese  lifted  up  and  pitched  into  a  cart. 

/.  Cheese  joUed  in  cart  during  half  a  day  on  its  way  to 

to  be  shipped  at  Gloucester. 
ff.  Cheese  pitched  from  cart  into  ship. 
h.  Ship  sails  with  the  cheese  for  Southampton. 

f .  The  motion  of  the  waves  makes  the  mites  sea-sick  for 

three  days.     Multitudes  die. 

J.  Cheese  taken  from  ship  and  pitched  into  a  cart ;  as  in 
the  period  e. 

h.  Cheese  conveyed  in  cart  to  cheesemonger  at  Salisbury 
— the  mites  dreadfully  yofted. 

I.   Cheese  pitched  into  cheesemonger's  shop,  as  in  «. 

m.  Long  period  of  repose  of  the  cheese  on  the  cheese- 
monger's shelf. 

n.  A  cylindrical  cavity  made  and  pieco  taken  out  for  a 
customer  to  taste.  Portion  of  cylinder  replaced. 
Air  being  let  in,  a  part  of  the  cheese  becomes 
rotten,  in  which  large  worms  are  produced,  giving 
rise  to  the  story  of  the  dragon. 

In  order  to  discover  the  month  in  which  the  cheese  was 
made,  I  remarked  that,  since  it  was  turned  over  on  its  shelf 
in  the  cheese-room  exactly  121  times,  it  must  have  been 
first  placed  there  in  some  month  which,  together  with  Ihe 
three  succeeding  mouths,  had  a  number  of  days  exactly  equal 
to  121. 


2  E 


418  CALCULAITON. 

I  then  computed  the  following  Table  : — 

Tcfhle  of  the  number  of  Days  contained  in  each  four  manihsy 
commencing  on  the  first  day  of  each  month  and  ending  on 
the  last  day  of  the  fourth  following  month. 


Kumber  of  Days. 

1  January 

to  30  April 

120 

1  February 

„  31  May 

120 

1  March 

„  30  June 

122 

1  April 

„  31  July 

122 

IMay 

„  31  August 

123 

1  June 

„  30  September 

122 

1  July 

„  31  October 

123 

1  August 

„  30  November 

122 

1  September 

„  31  December 

122 

1  October 

„  31  January 

123 

1  November 

„  28  February 

120 

1  December 

„  31  March 

121 

Now,  from  the  preceding  Table  it  appears  that  there  is 
only  one  month  in  the  year  fulfilling  this  condition,  namely, 
the  month  of  March.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  cheese 
must  have  been  made  four  months  before,  that  is,  in  the 
month  of  December. 

Shortly  after  this  vision  I  received  a  visit  from  that  great 
geologist,  the  erudite  Professor  Ponderdunder,*  a  member  of 
all  existing  Academies,  and  Secretary  of  Uie  most  celebrated 
How-and-wi  Academy  for  the  Reconstruction  of  Primeval 
Time.  I  was  an:2(ious  to  have  the  opinion  of  this  learned 
person  upon  my  recent  experience  :  but  he  was  evidently 
envious  of  my  vision,  which  he  treated  disrespectfully.     Po». 

•  Author  of  the  celebrated  Treatise  **  On  the  Entity  of  Space,"  tlie  bans 
of  all  wund  metaphysical  reasoning. 


THE  LEARNED  PONDERDUNDBK.         419 

seased  of  an  intellect  which  was  anything  but  precocious,  I 
liad  with  much  labour  at  last  made  him  apprehend  the  arith- 
metic by  which  I  had  discovered  the  exact  month  of  December 
in  the  date  of  the  great  series  of  121  cataclysms,  and  I  felt 
much  mortified  that  he  did  not  appreciate  my  ingenuity. 
All  of  a  sudden  he  seemed  intuitively  to  perceive  the  use 
that  might  be  made  of  tliis  vision.  He  then  asked  me  with 
great  earnestness  whether  I  had  communicated  this  new 
method  of  reasoning  to  any  other  person.  On  my  answering 
in  the  negative,  he  entreated  me  not  to  say  a  word  about  it« 
He  was  especially  anxious  that  Gardner  Wilkinson,  Layard, 
and  Rawlinson  should  not  get  hold  of  it,  lest  they  might 
anticipate  the  discovery  which  it  would  enable  him  to  com- 
plete. He  assured  me  that  he  could,  by  visiting  Nineveh,  and 
taking  the  Pyramids  and  Jericho  on  his  road,  with  the  aid  of 
my  formula,  restore  the  true  clironology  from  the  creation. 

Having  given  him  this  promise,  he  left  me,  and  immediately 
telegraphed  to  a  very  influential  friend,  the  Vice-President 
who  managed  the  How-and-wi  Academy,  suggesting  that  not 
a  moment  should  be  lost  in  authorizing  him  to  set  out  on 
this  expedition,  which  although  painfully  laborious  to  himself 
personally  and  not  without  peril,  he  was  willing  to  undertake 
for  the  glory  of  the  Academy,  and  from  the  religious  convic- 
tion that  it  would  enable  him  to  refute  the  frightfiil  heresy 
of  Bishop  Colenso.  Within  twenty-four  hours  the  faithful 
telegraph  brought  him  back  the  order  to  start  and  the 
credit  necessary  for  his  equipment  He  soon  completed  the 
latter,  and  was  en  route  within  the  time  I  have  mentioned. 

It  is  with  deep  regret  I  have  now  to  state,  that  just  ten 
days  after  the  active  Secretary  had  started  on  his  pious  mis- 
sion, I  discovered  that  my  reasoning  about  the  month  of 
December  with  all  its  consequences  was  completely  vitiated 

2  E  2 


420  STARTS  FOR  JERICHO. 

by  not  having  taken  into  consideration  the  existence  of  leap 
years,  in  which  case  the  magic  number  121  occurs  in  no  less 
than  four  cases ;  so  that  nothing  at  all  is  decided  by  it 

I  can  only  add  my  hope  that,  if  any  of  my  readers  should 
become  acquainted  with  the  whereabouts  of  the  learned 
Ponderdunder,  he  would  kindly  communicate  by  electric 
telegraph  this  painful  intelligence  to  that  energetic  traveller. 

I  have  subsequently  been  informed  that  Professor  Ponder- 
dunder*s  honorarium  is  only  £800  a-year,  and  the  payment 
of  all  travelling  expenses.  The  former  is  doubled  upon 
dangerous  travel.  I  was  told  that  he  also  enjoys  a  snug 
sinecure  of  considerable  value  recently  instituted  in  his  own 
country ;  being  at  the  head  of  the  department  lor  the  pro- 
motion of  "  Small  Science  and  Low  Artr  The  fSEunily  of  the 
Ponderdunders  possess  the  peculiar  gift  of  manipulating 
learned  bodies.  The  Flowery^Rhetorical,  and  the  Zoo-Eth- 
nological Societies  barely  escaped  perdition  under  their  costly 
autocracy.  I  regret  also  to  add,  (but  truth  fbrUds  me  to 
conceal  the  interesting  fact)  that  Ponderdunder  is  not  a 
member  of  aU  existing  academies  as  his  visiting  caid  indi- 
cated. 

On  searching  the  list  of  the  members  of  the  Koman 
Academy  **Dei  Lynxcii,"  I  find  that  he  is  not  a  Lynx. 
This,  the  oldest  of  European  academies,  originally  existed 
in  the  time  of  Gralileo.  About  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
I  had  the  honour  of  receiving  its  diploma. 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 


VARIOUS  BEMINISOENCES. 


On  Preventing  the  Forgery  of  Bank-Notes. 

In  1836  imitations  of  bank-notes  were  so  easily  made,  and 
the  forgeries  so  nomeroos,  that  the  Directors  of  the  Bank  of 
England  resolved  on  appointing  a  small  committee  to 
examine  the  subject,  and  advise  them  upon  a  remedy. 

The  Governor  of  the  Bank  wrote  to  ask  me  whether  I 
would  consent  to  act  upon  that  committee.  Not  being  my- 
self a  professional  engineer,  I  entertained  some  doubts  whether 
my  presence  would  be  agreeable  to  the  profession.  Having 
consulted  Sir  Isambard  Brunei  and  the  late  Mr.  Bryan 
Donkin,  who  had  been  also  applied  to,  they  both  pressed  me 
to  join  them  in  the  inquiry. 

We  examined  the  existing  means  of  preventing  forgery, 
which  were  certainly  very  defective.  The  system  of  the 
Bank  of  Ireland  which  had  recently  been  greatly  improved, 
was  then  discussed.  Not  many  months  before,  I  had  careftdly 
examined  the  whole  plan  at  Dublin.  After  a  full  deliberation 
on  the  subject,  I  drew  up  our  Eeport,  which  unanimously 
recommended  its  adoption.  The  identity  of  the  steel  plates 
from  which  the  bank-notes  were  to  be  printed  was  secured 
by  Perkins's  plan  of  multiplying  the  number  of  such  plates  by 
impressing  them  all  from  one  roll  of  hardened  steel. 

This  plan  answered  its  purpose  fully  at  that  time.    It  has. 


42L>  A  QUIET  EMEUTE  IN  PARIS. 

however,  been  superseded  within  the  last  few  years.  I  had, 
through  the  kindness  of  the  late  Gt)vemor  of  the  Bank  of 
England,  an  opportunity  of  examining  their  most  recent 
improvement.  The  discovery  of  the  process  of  making  fac- 
similes of  a  wood  engraving,  by  means  of  the  electro-chemical 
deposit  of  copper,  has  now  enabled  the  Bank  to  return  to  the 
more  rapid  process  of  surface  printing. 

It  is  probable,  from  the  great  progress  of  the  mechanical 
arts,  that  these  periods  for  revising  methods  of  preventing 
forgery  will  occur  at  more  frequent  intervals. 

I  derived  great  pleasure  from  being  permitted,  as  an 
amateur,  to  join  in  this  interesting  inquiry  with  my  professional 
friends,  whose  knowledge  and  character  I  highly  valued. 

Subsequently  I  received  the  imexpected  gratification  of  a 
vote  of  thanks  from  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Bank 
of  England — an  honour  usually  reserved  for  warriors  and 
statesmen. 

An  Em&ide, 

On  one  of  my  visits  to  Paris  I  had  the  pleasure  of  dining 
at  the  Bank  of  France.  During  dinner,  in  the  midst  of  an 
interesting  conversation,  the  Chairman  received  a  note: 
having  glanced  over  it  he  put  it  down  by  his  side  on  the  table. 

On  the  occurrence  of  a  pause  in  the  conversation,  thinking 
the  note  might  possibly  require  an  immediate  reply,  I  in- 
quired whether  such  was  the  case.  *'  No,"  said  my  host,  "  it 
is  of  no  consequence.  It  is  only  an  ^meute;"  which  he 
then  informed  me  was  occurring  in  a  distant  part  of  Paris. 

Letters  of  Credit. 
Letters  of  credit  are  specially  addressed  to  certain  bankers 
at  various  places  with  whom  your  own  banker  is  in   corre- 
spondence. 


THE  AUTHOR  IN  WANT  OF  CASH.  423 

It  has  on  several  occasions  happened  to  me  to  want  cash 
either  for  myself  or  to  accommodate  some  friend  at  places 
where  my  own  letters  were  not  addressed  to  any  firm.  At 
.  Frankfort  I^  made  a  purchase  of  books.  I  had  a  certain 
amount  of  the  usual  circular  letters,  but  as  these  were  payable 
in  a  great  many  cities,  and  as  I  proposed  visiting  Egjrpt,  I 
did  not  wish  to  part  with  them.  I  therefore  went  to  the 
house  of  Rothschild,  hoping  to  get  an  advance  on  my  letter 
of  credit,  although  it  was  not  addressed  to  that  firm.  But  it 
being  Saturday,  no  business  was  done.  I  therefore  inquired  for 
another  banker  of  reputation,  and  was  directed  to  M.  Eoch. 

I  accordingly  called  at  liis  counting-house,  stated  my 
reason  for  wanting  the  money,  showed  him  my  circular  notes 
and  letters  of  credit,  and  asked  whether,  under  these  circum- 
stances, he  would  cash  my  check  for  twenty  pounds.  He 
immediately  remarked  that  he  had  frequently  visited  Eng- 
land, and  that  most  probably  we  had  several  common  friends, 
as  it  soon  appeared,  for  the  first  person  he  mentioned  was 
Professor  Sedgwick. 

M.  Koch  not  only  advanced  me  the  moneyi  but  he  was 
so  kind  as  to  invite  me  to  dinner  on  the  following  day,  and  to 
give  me  a  seat  in  his  box  at  the  opera  on  the  first  appearance 
of  Madamoiselle  Sontag  on  the  Frankfort  stage. 

I  remember  at  least  three  other  occasions  in  which  I  got 
money  for  some  of  my  English  friends  at  towns  where  my 
letter  of  credit  was  not  addressed  to  any  banker.  In  those 
cases  I  only  asked  them  to  take  my  cheque,  send  it  to  London, 
and  when  they  had  received  the  amount,  to  pay  it  over  to  me. 
I  also  mentioned  that  I  was  known  to  several  persons  resident 
in  Geneva  and  in  Berlin  where  these  occurrences  happened. 
In  each  case  the  banker  immediately  let  me  have  the  money 
my  friends  wanted. 


424  DIFFICULTY  OF  GETTING  CASH, 

The  only  instance  in  which  I  was  refused  amused  me  very 
much.  I  spent  a  few  weeks  at  Modena,  where  I  had  pur- 
chased a  microscope  and  several  other  philosophical  instru- 
ments. One  morning  I  went  to  the  wealthy  finp  of  Bangui-  « 
netti,  and  mentioning  my  object  to  one  of  the  partners,  at  the 
same  time  showing  him  my  letter  of  credit,  asked  if,  under 
these  circumstances,  he  would  give  me  cash  for  a  draft  of 
twenty  pounds  on  my  banker  in  Ijondon.  He  replied  very 
courteously  that  it  was  the  rule  of  their  house  to  give  credit 
only  upon  letters  addressed  to  them  by  their  oum  corre- 
spondent in  London.  I  remarked  that  it  was  quite  necessary 
in  matters  of  business  to  adhere  to  fixed  rules,  and  that  when 
made  aware  of  their  practice  I  should  be  the  last  person  to 
ask  them  to  deviate  from  it 

Early  the  next  morning  a  carriage  drove  up  to  the  door  of 
my  lodgings  and  an  elderly  gentleman  was  announced.  This 
was  M.  Sanguinetti,  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm.  He  told 
me  he  c^me  to  apologize  for  the  refusal  of  his  junior  partner 
on  the  preceding  day,  and  to  ofier  to  give  me  cash  for  my 
cheque  to  whatever  amount  I  might  require. 

I  replied  that,  a  near  relative  of  my  own  having  formerly 
been  a  banker  in  London,  I  was  aware  of  the  necessity  of  a 
rigid  observance  of  rules  of  business,  and  that  his  young 
partner  had  not  only  done  his  duty,  but,  I  added,  that  he 
had  done  it  in  the  most  comleous  manner.  M.  Sanguinetti 
was  so  obliging  and  so  pressing,  that  I  found  it  difficult  to 
accept  the  advance  of  so  small  a  sum :  however,  it  was  all 
arranged,  and  he  left  me. 

I  then  sent  for  my  landlord  and  inquired  whether  he  had 
had  any  communication  with  M.  Sanguinetti.  Ho  replied 
that  the  old  gentleman,  the  heatl  of  the  firm,  had  oalleii  the 
iweceding  evening,  and  asked  him  who  I  was.     ''  And  what," 


HANDSOMELY  REMOVED.  425 

said  I  to  my  landlord,  "  was  your  answer?" — "  I  told  him  you 
were  a  Milord  Anglais,"  replied  my  host — ^"I  am  not  a 
Milord  Anglais,**  I  observed ;  **  but  why  did  you  tell  him  so?" 
— **  Because,"  said  my  landlord,  "  when  the  minister  paid  you 
a  visit,  you  sat  down  in  his  presence." 

The  explanation  of  the  a£Eair  was  this.  Soon  after  my 
arrival  at  Modena,  I  called  on  the  Marquis  Bangoni,  a  dis- 
tinguished mathematician,  who  had  written  a  profound  com- 
ment on  Laplace's  *  Th^rie  des  Fonctions  Generatrices.'  I 
had  not  brought  any  letter  of  introduction,  but  had  merely 
sent  up  my  card.  The  Marquis  Kangoni  received  me  very 
cordially,  and  we  were  soon  in  deep  discussion  respecting 
some  of  the  most  abstract  questions  of  analysis.  Ho  returned 
my  visit  on  the  following  day,  when  he  resumed  the  discussion, 
and  I  showed  him  some  papers  connected  with  the  subject.  I 
was  aware  of  the  title  of  the  Marquis  Bangoni  to  respect,  as 
arising  from  his  own  profound  acquaintance  with  analysis,  but 
I  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  informed  tliat  he  was  a  man  of 
great  importance  in  the  little  Dukedom  of  Modena,  for  ho 
was  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  Grand  Duke — in  fact,  the 
Palmerston  of  Modena.  This  at  once  explained  the  attention 
I  received  from  the  wealthy  banker. 

The  Speaker. 

One  Saturday  morning  an  American  gentleman  who  had 
just  arrived  from  Liveri)Ool,  where  he  hail  landed  from  the 
United  States  on  the  previous  day,  called  in  Dorset  Street 
He  was  very  anxious  to  see  the  Difference  Engine,  and  quite 
fitted  by  his  previous  studies  for  understanding  it  weU.  I 
took  him  into  the  drawing-room  in  which  the  machine  then 
resided  and  gave  him  a  short  explanation  of  its  structure. 
As  I  expected  a  large  {tarty  of  my  iriouds  in  the  evening, 


426  A  CONTRAST— ENGLAND— AMERICA. 

amongst  whom  were  a  few  men  of  science,  I  asked  him  to 
join  the  party. 

It  so  happened  on  that  day  that  the  Speaker  had  a  small 
dinner-party.  The  Silver  Lady  was  accidentally  mentioned, 
and  greatly  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  lady  of  the  housa 
As  the  whole  of  this  small  party,  comprising  three  or  four  of 
my  most  intimate  friends,  were  coming  to  my  house  in  the 
evening,  they  proposed  that  the  Speaker  and  his  wife  should 
accompany  them  to  my  party,  assuring  them  truly  that  I 
should  be  much  gratified  by  the  visit 

The  Silver  Lady  happened  to  be  in  brilliant  attire,  and 
after  mentioning  the  romance  of  my  boyish  passion,  the 
unexpected  success  of  her  acquisition,  and  the  devoted 
cultivation  I  bestowed  upon  her  education,  I  proceeded  to 
set  in  action  her  fascinating  and  most  graceful  move- 
ments. 

A  gay  but  by  no  means  unintellectual  crowd  surrounded 
the  automaton.  Jn  the  adjacent  room  the  Difference  Engine 
stood  nearly  deserted:  two  foreigners  alone  worshipped  at 
that  altar.  One  of  them,  but  just  landed  from  the  United 
States,  was  engaged  in  explaining  to  a  learned  professor  from 
Holland  what  he  had  himself  in  tlie  morning  gathered  from 
its  constructor. 

Leaning  against  the  doorway,  I  was  myself  contemplating 
the  strongly  contrasted  scene,  pleased  that  my  friends  were 
relaxing  from  their  graver  pursuits,  and  admiring  the  really 
graceful  movements  produced  by  mechanism ;  but  still  more 
highly  gratified  at  observing  the  deep  and  almost  parnful 
attention  of  my  Dutch  guest,  who  was  questioning  his  Ame- 
rican instructor  about  the  mechanical  means  I  had  devised 
for  accomplishing  some  arithmetical  object.  The  deep 
thought  with  which  this  explanation  was  attended  to,  gud- 


THE  PHILOSOPHER  AT  A  CONCERT.  427 

denly  flashed  into  intense  delight  when  the  simple  means  of 
its  accomplishment  were  made  apparent 

My  acnte  and  valued  friend,  the  late  Lord  Langdale,  who  had 
been  observing  the  varying  changes  of  my  own  counteDance, 
as  it  glanced  from  one  room  to  the  other,  now  asked  me, 
"  What  new  mischief  are  you  meditating?" — "  Look,"  said  I, 
''in  that  further  room — England.  Look  again  at  this — 
two  Foreigners. 

Ancient  Music. 

Many  years  ago  some  friends  of  mine  invited  me  to  accom- 
pany them  to  the  concert  of  ancient  music,  and  join  their 
supper-party  after  it  was  over. 

My  love  of  music  is  not  great,  but  for  the  pleasure  of  the 
society  I  accepted  the  invitation.  On  our  meeting  at  the 
supper-table,  I  was  overwhelmed  with  congratulations  upon 
my  exquisite  appreciation  of  the  treat  we  had  just  had.  I 
was  assured  that  though  my  expression  of  feeling  was  of  the 
quietest  order,  yet  that  I  was  the  earliest  to  approve  all  the 
most  beautiful  passages. 

I  accepted  modestly  my  easily-won  laurels,  and  perhaps  my 
taste  for  music  might  Lave  survived  in  the  memory  of  my 
friends,  when  my  taste  for  mechanism  had  been  forgotten.  I 
will,  however,  confide  to' the  public  the  secret  of  my  success. 
Soon  after  I  had  taken  my  seat  at  the  concert,  I  perceived 
Lady  Essex  at  a  short  distance  from  me.  Knowing  well  her 
exquisitely  sensitive  taste,  I  readily  perceived  by  the  expres- 
sion of  her  countenance,  as  well  as  by  the  slight  and  almost 
involuntary  movement  of  the  hand,  or  even  of  a  finger,  those 
passages  which  gave  her  most  delight.  These  quiet  indica- 
tions, unobserved  by  my  friends,  formed  the  electric  wire 
by  which  I  directed  the  expressions  of  my  own  counte- 


428  PHILOSOPHY  OP  INVENTION. 

nance  and  the  very  modest  applause  I  thought  it  pmdent  to 
develop. 

After  receiving  the  congratulations  of  my  Mends  upcfa 
my  great  musical  taste,  I  informed  them  how  easily  that 
reputation  had  been  acquired.  Such  are  the  feeble  bases  on 
which  many  a  public  character  rests. 


During  my  residence  with  my  Oxford  tutor,  whilst  I  was 
working  by  myself  on  mathematics,  I  occasionally  arrived  at 
conclusions  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  new,  but  which  from 
time  to  time  I  afterwards  found  were  already  well  known* 
At  first  I  was  much  discouraged  by  these  disappointments, 
and  drew  from  such  occurrences  the  inference  that  it  was 
hopeless  for  me  to  attempt  to  invent  anything  new.  After  a 
tune  I  saw  the  fallacy  of  my  reasoning,  and  then  inferred 
that  when  my  knowledge  became  much  more  extended  I 
might  reasonably  hope  to  make  some  small  additions  to  my 
&vourite  science. 

This  idea  considerably  influenced  my  course  during  my 
residence  at  Cambridge  by  directing  my  reading  to  the 
original  papers  of  the  great  discoverers  in  mathematical 
science.  I  then  endeavoured  to  trace  the  course  of  their 
minds  in  passing  frt)m  the  known  to  the  unknown,  and  to 
observe  whether  various  artifices  could  not  be  connected 
together  by  some  general  law.  The  writings  of  lEuler  were 
eminently  instructive  for  this  purpose.  At  the  period  of  my 
leaving  Cambridge  I  began  to  see  more  distinctly  the  object 
^f  my  future  pursuit 

It  appeared  to  me  that  the  highest  exercise  of  human 
faculties  consisted  in  the  endeavour  to  discover  those  laws  d 
thought  by  which  man  passes  from  the  known  to  that  which 


EARLY  ESSAYS.  429 

was  unknown.  It  might  with  propriety  be  called  the  phi- 
losophy of  invention.  During  the  early  part  of  my  residence 
in  London,  I  commenced  several  essays  on  Induction,  Gene- 
ralization, Analogy,  with  various  illustrations  from  different 
sources.  The  philosophy  of  signs  always  occupied  my  atten- 
tion, and  to  whatever  subject  I  applied  myself  I  was  ever  on 
the  watch  to  perceive  and  record  the  links  by  which  the  new 
was  connected  with  the  known. 

Most  of  the  early  essap  I  refer  to  were  not  sufficiently 
matured  for  publication,  and  several  have  appeared  without 
any  direct  reference  to  the  great  object  of  my  life.  I  may, 
however,  point  out  one  of  my  earlier  papers  in  the  "  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  for  1817,"  which,  whilst  it  made  con- 
siderable additions  to  a  new  branch  of  science,  is  itself  a 
very  striking  instance  of  tlie  use  of  analogy  for  the  purpose 
of  invention.  I  refer  to  the  "  Essay  on  the  Analogy  between 
the  Calculus  of  Functions  and  other  Branches  of  Analysis." 
—Phil  Trans.  1817. 


CHAPTER   XXXni. 

THE   author's   contributions  TO    HUMAN  KNOWLEDGE. 

Scientific  Societies — Analytical  Society  —  Astronomical  Society  —  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany,  Leopold  II. — Scientific  Meeting  at  Florence— Also  at 
Berlin — At  Edinburgh — At  Cambridge — Origin  of  the  Statistical  Society 
— Statistical  Congress  at  Brussels — Calculus  of  Functions — Diyision  of 
Labour — Verification  part  of  Cost — Principles  of  Taxation — Extension  to 
Elections — ^The  two  Pumps — Monopoly — Miracles. 

Of  the  part  taken  hy  the  Avihor  in  the  formation  of  various 
Scientific  Societies. 

The  origin  of  the  Analjrtical  Society  has  been  already  ex- 
plained in  the  fourth  chapter.  In  the  year  1820  the  Author 
of  this  volume,  joining  with  several  eminent  men  attached 
to  astronomical  pursuits,  instituted  the  Koyal  Astronomical 
Society.  At  the  present  time  only  three  of  the  original 
founders  survive.  The  meetings,  and  still  more  the  pub- 
lications of  that  society,  have  contributed  largely  to  extend 
the  taste  for  astronomy. 

In  1827  I  visited  Italy,  and  during  my  residence  at 
Florence  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  the  strong 
feeling  of  the  reigning  Grand  Duke  Leopold  11.,  not  only  for 
the  fine  arts,  but  for  the  progress  of  science,  and  for  its  appli- 
cation to  the  advancement  of  the  arts  of  life. 

After  a  long  tour  in  Italy,  I  found  myself  in  the  following 
year  again  in  Florence,  and  again  I  was  received  with  a  kind- 
ness and  consideration  which  I  can  never  forget.     The  Grand 


THE  GRAND  DUKE  OF  TUSCANY.  431 

Duke  was  anxious  to  know  my  opinion  respecting  the  state  of 
science  in  Italy.  At  one  of  the  many  interviews  with  which 
I  was  honoured,  he  asked  me  whether  I  could  point  out  any 
way  in  which  he  could  assist  its  progress. 

The  question  was  unexpected ;  but  it  immediately  recalled 
to  me  a  recent  circumstance,  which  I  then  mentioned,  namely, 
that  in  three  of  the  great  cities  of  Italy  I  had  been  consulted 
confidentially  by  three  distinguished  men  of  science  upon  the 
same  subject,  on  which  each  was  separately  engaged  without 
being  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  other  two  were  employed  on 
the  same  inquiry.  The  result,  I  remarked,  would  probably  be 
that  Italy  would  thus  make  one  step  in  science,  and  that  the 
discovery  might  probably  be  accompanied  by  painful  discus- 
sions respecting  priority ;  whilst  with  better  means  of  inter- 
communication amongst  its  men  of  science  Italy  might  have 
made  three  steps  in  advance.  The  idea  of  a  periodical  meet- 
ing of  men  engaged  in  scientific  pursuits  naturally  arose  out 
of  these  remarks.  At  parting,  the  Grand  Duke  requested  me 
to  draw  up  a  minute  of  the  conversation.  I  therefore  drew 
up  a  note  on  the  subject,  in  which  I  shadowed  out  an  annual 
meeting  of  learned  men  in  the  various  cities  of  Italy. 

On  finally  taking  leave,  previous  to  my  visit  to  Germany, 
the  Grand  Duke  assured  me  that  he  had  read  the  minute  of 
our  conversation  with  much  attention,  that  he  saw  the  evils 
pointed  out,  and  agreed  with  me  as  to  the  remedy.  He  then 
observed  that  ''the  time  for  such  a  meeting  had  not  yet 
arrived ;  but,"  added  the  Grand  Duke,  "  when  it  does  arrive, 
you  may  depend  upon  me." 

Eleven  years  after,  in  1839, 1  was  honoured  by  an  invitation 
from  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  to  meet  the  men  of  science 
of  Italy,  then  about  to  assemble  at  Florence.  In  this  com- 
munication it  was  observed,  that ''  the  time  had  now  arrived." 


432  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION:  ITS  ORIGIN. 

In  the  autumn  of  1828  I  reached  Berlin,  and  unexpectedly 
found,  from  M.  Humboldt,  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks 
the  philosophers  of  Germany  were  to  hold  a  meeting  in  that 
capital. 

I  then  learnt  for  the  first  time  that,  some  years  before. 
Dr.  Oken  had  proposed  and  organized  an  annual  congress  of 
German  naturalists,  meeting  in  each  succeeding  year  in  some 
great  town. 

I  remained  to  witness  the  enlarged  meeting  at  Berlin, 
which  was  very  successful,  and  wrote  an  account  of  it  to 
Sir  D.  Brewster,  who  published  the  description  of  it  in  **  The 
Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science."*  This  was,  I  believe,  the  first 
communication  to  the  English  public  of  the  existence  of  the 
German  Society. 

A  few  years  after.  Sir  David  Brewster,  Sir  John  Bobison, 
Secretary  of  the  Eoyal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Eev. 
William  Vernon  Harcourt,  undertook  the  foundation  of  a 
similar  periodical  and  itinerant  society  in  our  own  country. 

It  appeared  to  me  that  the  original  organization  of  the 
British  Association,  as  developed  at  York  and  at  Oxford,  was 
defective, — that  its  basis  was  not  sufficiently  extended.  In 
fact,  that  other  sciences  besides  the  physical  were  wanting  for 
the  harmony  and  success  of  the  whole.  There  was  no  section 
to  interest  the  landed  proprietors  or  those  members  of  their 
families  who  sat  in  either  house  of  parliament.  Nor  was 
there  much  to  attract  the  manufacturer  or  the  retail  dealer. 
A  purely  accidental  circumstance  enabled  me  to  remedy  one 
of  these  defects.! 

*  Vol.  X.,  p.  225.    1829. 

t  I  afterwards  sncoeeded  in  getting  the  BritiRh  Association  to  adopt  the 
plan  of  having  an  exhibition  of  specimens  of  the  various  numuiactuiBs  and 
commercial  products  of  the  districts  it  successively  visited.  This  com- 
menced at  Newcastle  in  1838,  and  was  carried  to  a  much  greater  extent  in 


THE  STATISTICAL  SOCIETY:  ITS  ORIGIN.  433 

At  the  Tliird  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Cam- 
bridge in  1833,  I  happened,  one  afternoon,  to  call  on  my  old 
and  valued  friend  the  Rev.  Richard  Jones,  Professor  of  Political 
Economy  at  Haileybnry,  who  was  then  residing  in  apartments 
at  Trinity  College.  He  informed  me  that  he  had  just  had 
a  long  conversation  with  our  mutual  friend  M.  Qu^telet,  who 
had  been  sent  officially  by  the  Belgian  Government  to  attend 
the  meeting  of  the  British  Association.  That  M.  Qu^telet 
had  brought  with  him  a  budget  of  statistical  facts,  and  that 
as  there  was  no  place  for  it  in  any  section,  he  (Professor 
Jones)  had  asked  M.  Qu^telet  to  come  to  him  that  even- 
ing, and  had  invited  Sir  Charles  Lemon,  Professor  Malthus, 
Mr.  Drinkwater  (afterwards  Mr.  Bethune),*  and  one  or  two 
others  interested  in  the  subject,  to  meet  him,  at  the  same 
time  requesting  me  to  join  the  party.  I  gladly  accepted 
this  invitation  and  departed.  I  had  not,  however,  reached  the 
gate  of  Trinity  College  before  it  occurred  to  me  that  there 
was  now  an  opportunity  of  doing  good  service  to  the  British 
Association.  I  returned  to  the  apartments  of  my  friend, 
explained  to  him  my  views,  in  wliich  he  ftdly  coincided,  and 
[  suggested  the  formation  of  a  Statistical  Section.  We  both 
agreed  that  unless  some  unusual  course  were  taken,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  get  such  a  Section  organized  until  the  meeting 
in  the  following  year.  I  therefore  proposed  that  when  we 
met  in  the  evening  we  should  consider  tlie  question  of  consti- 
tuting ourselves  provisionally  a  Statistical  Section,  and  after- 
wards, at  the  general  meeting  in  the  Senate  House,  that  I 
should  explain  the  cin^umstance  wliich  had  arisen,  and  the 


the  following  year  at  Birram«;baii).    1  am  not  aware  that  thia  (act  \<aB  ever 
referred  to  by  thoee  who  got  up  the  Exhibition  of  1851. 

•  I  have  reason  to  believe,  from  the  Note  lVx)k  of  Mr.  l>rinkwaler  (Be- 
tlitine),  that  this  meeting  wai  held  on  Wednesday,  26th  June,  183a 

2  F 


434  THE  STATISTICAL  SOCIETY :  ITS  ORIGIN. 

great  advantage  to  the  British  Association  of  rendering  sach  a 
Section  a  permanent  branch  of  its  institution.  After  fnrther 
explanations  its  utility  was  fully  admitted;  certain  rather 
stringent  rules  were  laid  down  in  order  to  confine  its  inquiries 
to  collections  of  facts.  The  sanction  of  the  General  Meeting 
was  then  given  to  the  establishment  of  the  Statistical  Section, 
and  before  the  termination  of  the  Congress,  a  larger  audience 
was  collected  in  its  meeting-room  than  in  those  of  any  of  its 
sister  sciences. 

The  interest  of  our  discussions,  and  the  mass  of  materials 
which  now  began  to  open  upon  our  view,  naturally  indicated 
the  necessity  of  forming  a  more  permanent  society  for  their 
collection.  The  British  Association  approved  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  permanent  committee  of  this  section.  I  was  re- 
quested to  act  as  chairman,  and  Mr.  Drinkwater  as  secretary. 
On  the  15th  March,  1834,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  London, 
the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  in  the  Chair,  it  was  resolved  to 
establish  the  Statistical  Society  of  London. 

The  Committee  of  the  British  Association,  in  reporting  this 
fact  to  the  Council,  observe  that  "  though  the  want  of  such  a 
"  society  has  been  long  felt  and  acknowledged,  the  successful 
"  establishment  of  it,  after  every  previous  attempt  had  fitiled, 
"  has  been  due  altogether  to  the  impulse  given  by  the  last 
"  meeting  of  the  Association.  The  distinguished  foreigner 
"  (M.  Qu^telet)  who  contributed  so  materially  to  the  formaticm 
"  of  the  Statistical  Section,  was  attracted  to  England  princi- 
"  pally  with  a  view  of  attending  that  meeting ;  and  the  Com- 
"  mittee  hail  this  as  a  signal  instance  of  the  beneficial  results 
"  to  be  expected  from  that  personal  intercourse  among  the 
"  enlightened  men  of  all  countries,  which  it  is  a  principal 
"  object  of  the  British  Association  to  encourage  and  facilitate." 

M.  Qu^telet,  on  his  return  to  his  own  coimtry,  continued  to 


CALCULUS  OF  FUNCTIONS.  436 

direct  by  his  counsel,  and  to  advance,  by  his  own  indefatigable 
industry,  those  statistical  inquiries  of  which  the  Belgian 
Government  so  well  appreciated  the  advantage. 

At  length  the  conviction  of  the  importance  of  the  value  of 
Statistical  Science  becoming  widely  extended  in  other  coun- 
tries, ^L  Qu^telet  saw  that  a  fit  time  had  arrived  for  simimon- 
ing  a  European  Congress.  The  results  of  such  meetings  are 
invaluable  to  all  sciences,  but  more  peculiarly  to  statistics,  in 
which  names  have  to  be  defined,  signs  to  be  invented,  methods 
of  observation  to  be  compared  and  rendered  uniform ;  thus 
enhancing  the  value  of  all  future  obvervations  by  making  them 
more  comparable  as  well  as  more  expeditiously  collected 

The  proposal  was  adopted  by  the  Belgian  Government,  and 
the  first  International  Statistical  Congress  was  held  at  Brussels 
in  Se[)tember,  1853. 

The  result  was  most  successful ;  all  the  cultivators  of  Sta- 
tistical Science  are  deeply  indebted  to  M.  Qu^telet  for  the 
unwearied  pains  he  took  to  insure  its  success.  He  was  assisted 
in  this  arduous  task  by  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  high  approbation  of  an  enlightened  sovereign. 

Calculus  of  Functions. 

lliis  was  my  earliest  step,  and  is  still  one  to  which  I  would 
willingly  recur  if  other  demands  on  my  time  permitted. 
Many  years  ago  I  recorded,  in  a  small  MS.  volume,  the  facts, 
and  also  extracts  of  letters  from  Herschel,  Bromhead,  and 
Alaule,  in  which  I  believe  I  have  done  justice  to  my  friends 
if  not  to  myself.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  Analytical 
Engine  adapts  itself  with  singular  facility  to  the  development 
and  numerical  working  out  of  this  vast  department  of  analysis. 

In  the  list  of  my  printed  papers,  at  the  end  of  this  volume, 
will  be  found  my  various  contributions  to  that  subject 

2  F  2 


436  THE  DIVISION  OF  LABOUR. 


Political  Economt. 


My  contributions  to  PolUieal  Economy  are  chiefly  to  be 
found  in  "  The  Economy  of  Machinery  and  ManufiEu^tares," 
which  consists  of  illustrations  and  developments  of  the 
principles  regulating  a  very  large  section  of  that  important 
subject 

Division  of  Labour. 

It  is  singular  that  in  the  analysis  of  the  division  of  labour, 
given  by  Adam  Smith  in  "  The  Wealth  of  Nations,**  the  most 
efficient  cause  of  its  advanti^e  is  entirely  omitted  The  three 
causes  assigned  in  that  work  are — 

Ist  The  increase  of  dexterity  in  every  particular  workman. 

2nd.  The  saving  of  time  lost  in  passing  from  one  species  of 
work  to  another. 

3rd.  The  invention  of  a  great  number  of  machines  which 
facilitate  and  abridge  labour,  and  enable  one  man  to  do  the 
work  of  many. 

These  are  undoubtedly  true  causes,  but  the  most  important 
cause  is  entirely  omitted. 

The  most  effective  cause  of  the  cheapness  produced  by  the 
division  of  labour  is  this — 

By  dividing  the  work  to  be  executed  into  different  pro- 
cesses, each  requiring  different  degrees  of  skill,  or  of  force, 
the  master  manufacturer  can  purchase  exactly  that  precise 
quantity  of  both  which  is  necessary  for  each  process.  Whereas 
if  the  whole  work  were  executed  by  one  workman,  that  person 
must  possess  sufficient  skill  to  perform  the  most  difficulty  and 
sufficient  strength  to  execute  the  most  laborious,  of  those 
operations  into  which  the  art  is  divided. 

Needle-making  is  perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  the  over- 
powering effect  of  tins  cause.     The  operatives  in  this  manu- 


THE  PUINCIPLE  OF  TAXATION.  437 

facture  consist  of  children,  women,  and  men,  earning  wages 
varying  from  three  or  four  shillings  up  to  five  pounds  per 
week.  Those  who  point  the  needles  gain  about  two  pounds. 
The  man  who  hardens  and  tempers  the  needles  earns  from 
five  to  six  pounds  per  week.  It  ought  also  to  be  observed 
that  one  man  is  sufficient  to  temper  the  needles  for  a  large 
factory ;  consequently  the  time  spent  on  each  needle  by  the 
most  expensive  operative  is  excessively  small. 

But  if  a  manufacturer  insist  on  employing  one  man  to 
make  the  whole  needle,  he  must  pay  at  the  rate  of  five  pounds 
a  week  for  every  portion  of  the  labour  bestowed  upon  it.* 

Cod  of  any  Article. 

Besides  the  usual  elements  which  contribute  to  constitute  the 
price  of  any  tiling,  there  exists  another  which  varies  greatly 
in  difierent  articles.     It  is  this— 

The  cod  and  diffievJJty  of  verifying  the  fad  (hat  the  article  is 
exactly  what  it  professes  to  he. 

This  is  in  some  cases  very  small ;  but  in  many  instances  it 
is  scarcely  possible  for  the  purchaser  to  verify  the  genuineness 
of  certain  articles.  In  these  cases  the  public  pay  a  larger 
price  than  they  otherwise  would  do  to  those  tradesmen  whose 
character  and  integrity  are  well  established. 

Principles  of  TaaDoiion. 

In  a  pampldet  printed  in  1848,  I  published  my  views  of 
taxation,  especially  with  reference  to  an  Income  Tax. 

The  principle  there  supported  was  entertained  and 
examined  by  the  French  Minister  of  'Finance,  M.  Passy. 
The  pamphlet  itself  was  subsequently  translated  into  Italian 
and  published  at  Turin,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Sardinian 
Finance  Minister. 

*  See  *'  Economy  of  Manufacturat.*' 


438  THE  PRINCIPLE  OP  REPRESENTATION. 

The  principle  there  maintained  admits^  I  think,  of  an 
extension  to  the  election  of  representatives. 

In  that  case,  each  person  would  have  one  vote  on  the 
ground  of  his  personality,  and  other  votes  in  proportioii  to 
his  income.  Whenever  any  further  extension  of  our  repre- 
sentative system  becomes  necessary,  the  dangers  arising  from 
the  extension  of  the  personal  suffrage  may  fiairly  be 
counterbalanced  by  giving  a  plurality  of  votes  to  property. 
Such  a  course  would  have  a  powerful  tendency  to  good,  by 
supporting  the  national  credit  and  by  preventing  the 
destructive  waste  of  capital  by  war,  .and  it  might  even  make 
us  a  highly  conservative  people. 

As  the  subject  of  political  economy  will  be  considered 
rather  dry  by  most  readers,  I  will  endeavour  to  enliven 
it  by  an  extract  from  that  pamphlet,  which  singularly 
illustrates  tlie  question  of  direct  and  indirect  taxation. 
I  had  mentioned  the  productive  pump  of  my  Italian 
friend  to  the  late  Lord  Lansdowne,  who  supplied  me  with 
the  counterpart  in  the  unproductive  pump  erected  by  the 
late  William  Edgeworth,  at  Edgeworth  Town,  in  Ireland. 

That  proprietor,  whose  country  residence  was  mnch  fre- 
quented by  beggars,  resolved  to  establish  a  test  for  dis- 
criminating between  the  idle  and  the  industrious,  and  also  to 
obtain  some  small  return  for  the  alms  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
bestowing.  He  accordingly  added  to  the  pump  by  which  the 
upper  part  of  his  house  was  supplied  with  water,  a  piece  of 
mechanism  so  contrived  that,  at  the  end  of  a  certain  number  6[ 
strokes  of  the  pump-handle,  a  penny  fell  out  from  an  aperture 
to  repay  the  labourer  for  his  work.  This  was  so  arranged, 
that  labourers  who  continued  at  the  work,  obtained  very 
nearly  the  usual  daily  wages  of  labour  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  ITie  idlest  of  the  vagabonds  of  course  refused  this 
new  labour  test :  but  the  greater  part  of  the  beggars,  whose 


STOKY  OF  THE  TWO  PUMPS.  439 

constant  tale  was  that  'they  could  not  earn  a  fair  day's  %cage$ 
for  a  fair  day's  worhy  after  earning  a  few  pence,  usually  went 
away  curbing  the  hardness  of  their  taskmaster. 

An  Italian  gentleman,  with  greater  sagacity,  devised  a  more 
productive  pump,  and  kept  it  in  action  at  far  less  expense. 
The  garden  wall  of  his  villa  adjoined  the  great  high  road  lead- 
ing from  one  of  the  capitals  of  northern  Italy'*',  from  which  it 
was  distant  but  a  few  miles.  Possessing  within  his  garden  a 
fine  spring  of  water,  he  erected  on  the  outside  of  the  wall  a 
pump  for  public  use,  and  chaining  to  it  a  small  iron  ladle,  he 
placed  near  it  some  rude  seats  for  the  weary  traveller,  and  by 
a  slight  roof  of  climbing  plants  protected  the  whole  from  the 
mid-day  sun.  In  this  delightful  shade  the  tired  and  thirsty 
travellers  on  that  well-beaten  road  ever  and  anon  reposed  and 
refreshed  themselves,  and  did  not  fail  to  put  *in  requisition 
the  service  of  the  pump  so  opportunely  presented  to  them. 
From  morning  till  night  many  a  dusty  and  wayworn  pilgrim 
plied  the  handle,  and  went  on  his  way,  Uemng  the  liberal 
proprietor  for  his  kind  consideration  of  the  passing  stranger. 

But  the  owner  of  the  villa  was  deeply  acquainted  with 
human  nature.  He  knew  in  that  sultry  climate  that  the 
liquid  would  be  more  valued  from  its  scarcity,  and  from  the 
difficulty  of  a<!quiring  it  He  therefore,  to  enhance  the  value 
of  the  gift,  wisely  arranged  the  pump,  so  that  its  spout  was  of 
rather  contracteil  dimensions,  and  the  handle  required  a 
moderate  application  of  force  to  work  it.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  pump  raised  far  more  water  than  could 
pass  through  its  spout ;  and,  to  prevent  its  being  wasted,  tlie 
surj)lus  was  conveyed  by  an  invisible  chamiel  to  a  large 
reservoir  judiciously  placed  for  watering  the  proprietor's  own 
house,  stables,  and  garden, — into  which  about  five  pints  were 
poured  for  every  s)KX)nful  passing  out  of  the  spout  for  the 

•  Turin. 


440  MONOPOLY. 

benefit  of  the  weary  traveller.  Even  this  latter  portion  was 
not  entirely  neglected,  for  the  waste-pipe  conveyed  the  part 
which  ran  over  from  the  ladle  to  some  delicious  strawberry 
beds  at  a  lower  leveL  Perhaps,  by  a  small  addition  to  tiiis 
ingenious  arrangement,  some  kind-hearted  travellers  might 
be  enabled  to  indulge  their  mules  and  asses  with  a  taste  of 
the  same  cool  and  refreshing  fluid;  thus  paying  an  additional 
tribute  to  the  skill  and  sagacity  of  the  benevolent  proprietor. 
My  accomplished  friend  would  doubtless  make  a  most  popular 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  should  his  Sardinian  Majesty 
require  his  services  in  that  department  of  administration. 

M(m<ypoly. 

In  the  course  of  my  examination  of  this  question  I  arrived 
at  what  I  conceive  to  be  a  demonstration  of  the  following 
principle : — 

That  even  under  circumgtances  of  the  most  absolute  monopoly^ 
the  monopolist  tviH,  if  he  knows  his  oum  interest  and  pubsues 
it^  sell  the  article  he  produces  at  exactly  the  same  price  as  the 
freest  competition  would  produce. 

I  devoted  a  chapter  to  this  subject  in  an  edition  which  I 
prepared  several  years  ago  for  a  new  Italian  translation  of  the 
"  Economy  of  Manufactures ;"  but  I  am  not  aware  whether  it 
has  yet  been  published. 

Miracles, 
The  explanation  which  I  gave  of  the  nature  of  miracles  in 
^  The  Ninth  Bridgewater  Treatise,"  published  in  May,  1837, 
has  now  stood  the  test  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
during  which  it  has  been  examined  by  some  of  the  deepest 
thinkers  in  many  countries.  Its  adoption  by  those  writers 
who  have  referred  to  it  has,  as  far  as  my  information  goes, 
been  unanimous. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  author's   further  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  HUMAN 
KNOWLEDGE. 

Olaciera — Uniform  Poetage — Weight  of  tbe  Bristol  Bags — Parcel  Post — Plan 
for  transmiltinji;  Jjettcrs  along  Aerial  Wires — Cost  of  Verification  is  port 
of  Price — Sir  Rowland  Hill — Submarine  Navigation — Difference  Engine 
— Analytical  Kngiue — Cause  of  Magnetic  and  Electric  Rotations — Mecha- 
nical Notation— Occulting  Lights — Semi-occultation  may  determine  Dis- 
tances— Distinction  of  Lighthouses  numerically — Application  from  the 
United  States — l*roi»oscd  Vojrage — Loss  of  the  Ship  and  Mr.  Reid— Con- 
gress of  Naval  Officers  at  Bmssels  in  1853 — My  Portable  Occulting  Light 
exhibited — Night  Signals — Sun  Signals — Solar  Oocultinjj  Lights — After- 
wards used  at  Sebastopol — Numerical  Signals  applicable  to  all  Dic- 
tionaries—  Zenith  Light  Signals  —  Telegraph  for  Shii*  on  Shore  — 
lireenwich  Time  Signals — ^Theory  of  Isothermal  Surfaces  to  account  for 
tlie  OeolO;:;ical  Facts  of  the  successive  Uprising  and  Depression  of  various 
jiarts  of  the  Earth's  Surface — Games  of  Skill — ^Tit-tat-to— Exhibitions — 
Problem  of  the  Three  Magnetic  Bodies. 

OfOlaeierz. 
Much  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  of  glaciers.  The 
view  which  I  took  of  the  question  on  my  first  acquaintance 
with  them  still  seems  to  me  to  afford  a  sufficient  explanation 
of  the  phenomena.  It  is  probable  that  I  may  have  been 
antici|)ated  in  it  by  Saussure  and  otliers ;  but,  having  no  timo 
to  inquire  into  its  history,  I  shall  give  a  very  brief  state- 
ment of  those  views. 

The  greater  part  of  the  material  whi(»h  ultimately  consti- 
tutes a  glacier .  arises  from  the  rain  falling  and  the  snow 
deixMited  in  the  higher  iK)rtions  of  mountain  ranges,  wliich 


442  GLACIERS. 

naturally  first  fill  up  the  ravines  and  yaUeys,  and  rests  on 
the  tops  of  the  mountains,  covering  them  to  various  depths. 

The  chief  facts  to  be  explained  are — first,  the  causes  of 
the  descent  of  these  glaciers  into  the  plains;  second,  the 
causes  of  the  transformation  of  the  opaque  consolidated  snow 
at  the  sources  of  the  glacier  into  pure  transparent  ice  at  its 
termination. 

The  glaciers  usually  lying  in  valleys  having  a  steep  descent, 
gravity  must  obviously  have  a  powerful  influence;  but  its 
action  is  considembly  increased  by  another  cause. 

The  heat  of  the  earth  and  that  derived  from  the  friction 
of  the  glacier  and  its  broken  fragments  against  the  rock  on 
which  it  rests,  as  well  as  from  the  friction  of  its  own  frag- 
ments, slowly  melts  the  ice,  and  thus  diminisliing  the  amount 
of  its  support,  the  ice  above  cracks  and  falls  down  upon  the 
earth,  again  to  be  melted  and  again  to  be  broken. 

But  as  the  ice  is  upon  an  inclined  plane,  the  pressure  from 
above,  on  the  upper  side  of  the  fragment,  will  be  greater  than 
that  on  the  lower ;  consequently,  at  every  fall  the  fallen  mass 
will  descend  by  a  very  small  quantity  further  into  the  valley. 
Another  consequence  of  the  melting  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
centre  of  the  glacier  will  be  that  the  centre  will  advance 
faster  than  the  sides,  and  its  termination  will  form  a  curve 
convex  towards  the  valley. 

The  above  was,  I  believe,  the  common  explanation  of  the 
formation  of  glaciers.  The  following  part  explains  my  own 
views : — 

Of  the   Causes  of  the   Transformation  of  Condensed  Snow 
into  Trans/parent  Ice, 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  water  rapidly  frozen  retains  all 
the  air  it  held  in  solution,  and  is  opaque. 


OF  TRANSPARENT  AND  OPAQUE  ICE.  443 

It  is  also  known  that  water  freezing  very  dowly  is  trans- 
parent 

Whenever,  by  the  melting  of  the  lower  portion  of  any  part 
of  a  glacier,  a  piece  of  it  cracks  and  Mis  to  a  lower  level,  the 
friction  of  the  broken  sides  will  produce  heat,  and  melt  a 
small  portion  of  water.  This  water,  trickling  down  very 
slowly,  will  form  a  thin  layer  on  the  broken  surface,  and  a 
portion  will  be  retained  in  the  narrowest  part  of  the  crack. 
But,  since  the  temperature  of  a  glacier  is  very  near  the  freezing 
point,  that  water  will  freeze  very  slowly.  It  will,  therefore, 
become  transparent  ice,  and  will,  as  it  were,  solder  together 
the  two  adjacent  surfaces  by  a  thin  layer  of  transparent  ice. 

But  the  transparent  ice  is  much  stronger  and  more  difficult 
to  break  than  opaque  ice ;  consequently,  the  next  time  the 
soldered  fragments  are  again  broken,  they  will  not  break  in 
the  strongest  part,  which  is  the  transparent  ice :  but  the  next 
fracture  will  occur  in  the  opaque  ice,  as  it  was  at  first 

Thus,  by  the  continued  breaking  and  falling  downward  of 
the  fragments  of  the  glacier,  as  it  proceeds  down  the  valley, 
a  series  of  vertical,  rudely-parallel  veins  of  transparent  ice 
will  be  formed.  As  these  masses  descend  the  valley,  fresh 
vertical  layers  of  transparent  ice  will  be  interposed  between 
those  already  existing  until  the  whole  takes  that  beautiful 
transparent  cerulean  tint  which  we  so  frequently  see  at  the 
lower  termination  of  a  glacier.  Another  effect  of  this  vertical 
fracture  at  the  surfaces  of  least  resistance  will  be  alternate 
vertical  layers  of  opaque  and  transparent  ice  shading  into  each 
other.  This  would,  in  some  of  its  stages,  give  a  kind  of  rib- 
boned appearance  to  the  ice.  Probably  traces  of  it  would 
still  be  exhibited  even  in  the  most  transparent  ice.  Speaking 
roughly,  this  ribboned  structure  ought  to  be  closer  together 
the  nearer  the  piece  examined  is  to  the  end  of  the  glacier.   It 


444  CRACKS  IN  GLACIERS  PERPENDICULAR. 

ought  abo  to  be  more  apparent  towards  the  centre  of  the  gla- 
cier than  towards  the  sides.  The  effect  of  this  progress  down- 
ward is  to  produce  a  very  powerful  friction  between  the  masses 
of  ice  and  the  earth  over  which  they  are  pushed,  and,  conse- 
quently, a  continual  accession  to  that  stream  of  water  which 
is  found  issuing  from  all  glaciers. 

The  result  of  this  continual  breaking  up  is  to  cause  all  the 
water  melted  by  the  friction  of  the  blocks  of  ice  which  is  not 
retained  in  the  interstices  to  fall  towards  the  lowest  part  of  the 
descending  valley,  and  thus  increase  the  stream,  and  so  take 
away  more  and  more  of  the  support  of  the  central  part  of  the 
glacier.  Hence  the  advance  of  the  surface  of  the  glacier 
will  be  much  quicker  towards  its  middle  than  near  the 
sides. 

The  consequence  of  these  actions  is,  that  cracks  in  the  ice 
will  occur  generally  in  planes  perpendicular  to  its  surface. 
The  rain  which  falls  upon  the  glacier,  the  water  produced 
from  its  surface  by  the  sun's  rays  and  by  the  effect  of  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  the  water  produced 
by  the  friction  of  its  descending  fragments,  will  penetrate 
through  these  cracks,  and  be  retained  by  capillary  action  on 
the  surfaces,  and  still  more  where  the  distance  of  the  a<ljacent 
surfaces  is  very  small.  The  rest  of  this  unfrozen  water  will 
reach  the  rocky  bottom  of  the  glacier,  and  give  up  some  of  its 
heat  to  the  bed  over  which  it  passes,  to  be  again  employtHi  in 
melting  away  the  lowest  support  of  the  glacier  ice.  Altboucrh 
the  temperature  of  the  glacier  should  differ  but  by  a  very 
small  quantity  from  that  of  the  freezing  point  of  water,  yet 
these  films  will  only  freeze  the  more  slowly,  and  therefore  be- 
come more  solid  and  transparent  ice.  Their  very  thinness  will 
enable  all  the  air  to  be  more  readily  extricated  by  freeadng. 

The  question  of  the  regelaiion  of  pounded  ice,  if  by  that 


BURNING  TOGETHER  BRONZE.  445 

term  is  meant  anytking  more  than  welding  ice  by  heat,  or  of 
joining  its  parts  by  a  process  analogous  to  tliat  which  is  called 
buminff  together  two  sepiirate  portions  of  a  bronze  statue,  has 
always  api)eared  to  me  unsatitsfactory. 

The  process  of  "burning  together"  is  as  follows: — Two 
portions  of  a  large  statue,  wliich  have  been  cast  separately, 
are  placed  in  a  trough  of  sand,  with  their  corresponding  ends 
near  to  each  other.  A  channel  is  made  in  the  sand,  leading 
through  the  junction  of  the  parts  to  be  united. 

A  stream  of  melted  bronze  is  now  allowed  to  run  out  from 
the  furnace  through  the  channel  between  the  contiguous  ends 
which  it  is  proposed  to  unite.  The  first  effect  of  this  is  to 
heat  the  ends  of  the  two  fragments.  After  the  stream  of 
melted  metal  has  continued  some  time,  ilie  ends  of  those  frag- 
ments themselves  begin  to  melt  When  a  small  quantity  of 
each  end  is  completely  melted,  the  further  flow  of  the  melted 
metal  is  stopped,  and  as  soon  as  the  pool  of  melted  metal 
connects,  the  two  ends  of  the  pieces  to  be  united  begins  to 
consfilidate :  the  whole  is  covered  up  with  sand  and  allowed 
to  cool  gradually.  When  cold,  the  unnecessary  metal  is  cut 
away,  and  the  fragments  are  as  jyerfectly  united  as  if  they 
had  been  originally  cast  in  one  pie(;e. 

The  sudden  consolidation,  by  physical  force,  of  pounded  ice 
or  snow  appears  to  me  to  arise  from  the  first  effect  of  the 
pressure  producing  heat,  which  melts  a  small  portion  into 
water,  and  brings  tlie  particles  of  ice  or  snow  nearer  to  each 
other.  The  portion  of  water  tlius  produced  then,  having  its 
heat  abstracted  by  the  ice,  connects  the  particles  of  the  latter 
more  firmly  together  by  freezing. 

If  two  flat  surfaces  of  clear  ice  had  a  heated  plate  of  metal 
put  between  them,  two  very  thin  layers  of  water  would  be 
formed  between  the  ice  and  the  heated  plate.     If  the  hot 


446  ICE  FROZEN  IN  THE  EXHIBITION,  1862. 

plate  were  suddenly  withdrawn,  and  the  two  plates  of  ice 
pressed  together,  they  would  then  be  frozen  together.  This 
would  be  equivalent  to  welding.  In  all  these  cases  the  tem- 
perature of  the  ice  must  be  a  very  little  lower  than  the  freez- 
ing-point. The  more  nearly  it  api)roached  that  point  the 
slower  the  process  of  freezing  would  be,  and  therefore  the 
more  transparent  the  ice  thus  formed. 

In  the  Exhibition  of  1862  there  were  two  different  pro- 
cesses by  which  ice  was  produced  in  abundance,  even  in  the 
heat  of  the  Machinery  Annex,  in  which  they  were  placed. 

In  both  the  water  was  quickly  converted  into  ice,  and  in 
both  cases  the  ice  was  opaque. 

In  one  of  them  the  ice  was  produced  in  the  shape  of  long 
hollow  cylinders.  These  were  quite  opaque,  and  were  piled 
up  in  stacks.  The  temperature  of  the  place  caused  the  ice  to 
melt  slowly ;  consequently,  the  interstices  where  the  cylin- 
ders rested  upon  each  other,  received  and  retained  a  small 
portion  of  the  water,  which,  trickling  down,  was  detained  by 
capillary  attraction.  Here  it  was  very  slowly  frozen,  and 
formed  at  the  junction  of  the  cylinders  a  thin  film  of  trans- 
parent ice.  This  gradually  increased  as  the  upper  cylinders 
of  the  ice  melted  away,  and,  after  several  hours'  exposure,  I 
have  seen  clear  transparent  ice  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick, 
where,  at  the  commencement,  there  had  not  been  even  a 
trace  of  translucency. 

On  inquiring  of  the  operator  why  the  original  cylinders 
were  opaque,  he  told  me,  because  they  were  frozen  quickly. 
I  then  pointed  out  to  him  the  small  portions  of  transparent 
ice,  which  I  have  described,  and  asked  him  the  cause.  He 
immediately  said,  because  they  had  been  frozen  slowly. 

It  appeared  to  be  an  axiom,  derived  from  his  own  experi- 
ence, that  water  quickly  frozen  is  always  opaque,  and  water 


BOOK  AND  PARCEL  POST.  447 

slowly  frozen  always  transparent  I  pointed  out  this  practi- 
cal illustration  to  many  of  the  friends  I  accompanied  in  their 
examination  of  the  machinery  of  the  Annex. 

It  would  follow  from  this  explanation,  that  glaciers  on 
lofty  mountains  and  in  high  latitudes  may,  by  their  own 
action,  keep  the  surface  of  the  earth  on  which  they  rest  at  a 
higher  temperature  than  it  would  otherwise  attain. 

Book  and  Parcel  Post. 

When  my  friend,  the  late  General  Colby,  was  preparing  the 
materials  and  instruments  for  the  intended  Irish  survey,  he 
generally  visited  me  about  once  a  week  to  discuss  and  talk 
over  with  me  his  various  plans.  We  had  both  of  us  turned 
our  attention  to  the  Post-office,  and  had  both  considered  and 
advocated  the  question  of  a  uniform  rate  of  postaga  The 
groimd  of  that  opinion  was,  that  the  actual  transport  of  a 
letter  formed  but  a  small  item  in  the  expense  of  transmitting 
it  to  its  destination ;  whilst  the  heaviest  part  of  the  cost  arose- 
from  the  collection  and  distribution,  and  was,  therefore,  almost 
independent  of  the  length  of  its  journey.  I  got  some  returns 
of  the  weight  of  the  Bristol  mail-bag  for  each  night  during 
one  week,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  possibility  of  a  more 
rapid  transmission.  General  Colby  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that,  supposing  every  letter  paid  sixpence,  and  that  the  same 
number  of  letters  were  posted,  then  the  revenue  would  re- 
main the  same.  I  believe,  when  an  official  comparison  was 
subsequently  made,  it  was  found  that  the  equivalent  sum 
was  fivepence  halfpenny.  I  then  devised  means  for  trans- 
mitting letters  enclosed  in  small  cylinders,  along  wires  sus- 
pended from  posts,  and  from  towers,  or  from  church  steeples. 
I  made  a  little  model  of  such  an  apparatus,  and  thus  trans- 
mitted notes  from  my  front  drawing-room,  through  the  house. 


448  COST  OF  VERIFICATION. 

into  my  workshop,  which  was  in  a  room  above  my  stables. 
The  date  of  these  experiments  I  do  not  exactly  reooUect, 
but  it  was  certainly  earlier  than  1827. 

I  had  also,  at  a  still  earlier  period,  arrived  at  the  remark- 
able economical  principle,  thai  one  dement  in  the  price  of 
every  article  is  the  cod  of  its  verification.    It  arose  thus : — 

In  1815  I  became  possessed  of  a  house  in  London,  and  com- 
menced my  residence  in  Devonshire  Street,  Portland  Place, 
in  which  I  resided  until  1827.  A  kind  relative  of  mine  sent 
up  a  constant  supply  of  game.  But  although  the  game  cost 
nothing,  the  expense  charged  for  its  carriage  was  so  great 
that  it  really  was  more  expensive  than  butchers'  meat.  I 
endeavoured  to  get  redress  for  the  constant  overcharges,  but 
as  the  game  was  transferred  from  one  coach  to  another  I 
found  it  practically  impossible  to  discover  where  the  over- 
charge arose,  and  thus  to  remedy  the  evil.  These  eflForts, 
however,  led  me  to  the  fact  that  verifieationy  which  in  this 
instance  constituted  a  considerable  part  of  the  price  of  the 
article,  mttstform  a  portion  of  its  price  in  every  case. 

Acting  upon  this,  I  suggested  that  if  the  Government  were 
to  become,  through  the  means  of  the  PostoflSce,  parcel  car- 
riers, they  would  derive  a  greater  profit  from  it  than  any  private 
trader,  because  the  whole  price  of  verification  would  be  saved 
by  the  public.  I  therefore  recommended  the  enlargement  of 
the  duties  of  the  Post-office  by  employing  it  for  the  convey- 
ance of  books  and  parcels. 

I  mention  these  facts  with  no  wish  to  disparage  the  subse-- 
quent  exertions  of  Sir  Rowland  Hill.  His  devotion  to  the 
subject,  his  unwearied  industry,  and  his  long  and  at  last  suc- 
cessful efforts  to  overcome  the  notorious  official  friction  of 
that  department,  required  all  the  enduring  energy  he  so 
constantly  bestowed  upon  the  subject      The  benefit    con- 


DIFFERENCE  ENGINE.  449 

ferred  upou  the  country  by  the  improTements  he  introduced 
is  as  yet  scarcely  sufficiently  estimated. 

These  principles  were  published  afterwards  in  the 
"  Economy  of  Manufactures." — See  First  Edition,  8th  June, 
1832 ;  Second  Edition,  22nd  November,  1832.  See  chap, 
on  the  "Influence  of  Verification  on  Price,"  p.  134,  and 
"  Conveyance  of  Letters,"  p.  273. 

Submarine  NcmgaUon. 

Of  this  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  more  than  mention  the 
title  and  refer  for  the  detail  to  the  chapter  on  Experience  by 
Water :  and  also  to  the  article  Diving  Bell  in  the  "  Ency- 
clopeadia  Metropolitana." 

I  have  only  to  add  my  opinion  that  in  open  inverted  ves- 
sels it  may  probably  be  found,  under  certain  circumstances, 
of  important  use. 

Difference  Engine. 

Enough  has  already  been  said  about  that  unfortunate 
discovery  in  the  previous  part  of  this  volume.  The  first 
and  great  cause  of  its  discontinuance  was  the  inordinately 
extravagant  demands  of  the  person  whom  I  had  employed  to 
construct  it  for  the  Government  Even  this  might,  perhaps, 
by  great  exertions  and  sacrifices,  have  been  surmounted. 
There  is,  however,  a  limit  beyond  which  human  endurance 
cannot  go.  If  I  survive  some  few  years  longer,  the  Analy- 
tical Engine  will  exist,  and  its  works  will  afterwards  be 
spread  over  the  world.  If  it  is  the  will  of  that  Being, 
who  gave  me  the  endowments  which  led  to  that  disco- 
very, that  I  should  not  survive  to  complete  my  work,  I  bow 
to  that  decision  with  intense  gratitude  for  those  gifts :  con- 
scious that  through  life  I  have  never  hesitated  to  make  the 

2  o 


450  ON  MAGNETIC  ROTATIONS. 

severest  sacrifices  of  fortune,  and  even  of  feelings,  in  order  to 
accomplish  my  imagined  mission. 

The  great  principles  on  which  the  Analytical  Engine 
rests  have  been  examined,  admitted,  recorded,  and  demon- 
strated. The  mechanism  itself  has  now  been  reduced  to 
unexpected  simplicity.  Half  a  century  may  probably  elapse 
before  any  one  without  those  aids  which  I  leave  behind  me, 
will  attempt  so  unpromising  a  task.  If,  unwarned  by  my 
example,  any  man  shall  undertake  and  shall  succeed  in  really 
constructing  an  engine  embodying  in  itself  the  whole  of  the 
executive  department  of  mathematical  analysis  upon 
different  principles  or  by  simpler  mechanical  means,  I  have 
no  fear  of  leaving  my  reputation  in  his  charge,  for  he 
alone  will  be  fully  able  to  appreciate  the  nature  of  my 
efforts  and  the  value  of  their  results. 

Explanation  of  the  Cause  of  Magnetic  and  Electric  Rotaiions. 

In  1824  Arago  published  his  experiments  on  the  mag- 
netism manifested  by  various  substances  during  rotation.  I 
was  much  struck  with  the  announcement,  and  immediately 
set  up  some  apparatus  in  my  own  workshop  in  order  to  witness 
the  facts  thus  announced 

My  friend  Herschel,  who  assisted  at  some  of  the  earliest 
experiments,  joined  with  me  in  repeating  and  varying  those  of 
Arago.  The  results  were  given  in  a  joint  paper  on  that 
subject,  published  in  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  " 
in  1825. 

I  had  previously  made  some  magnetic  experiments  on  a 
large  magnet  which  would,  under  peculiar  management, 
sustain  about  32^  lbs.  It  was  necessary  to  commence  with  a 
weight  of  about  28  lbs.,  and  then  to  add  at  successive  intervals 
additional  weights,  but  each  less  and  less  than  the  former. 


ON  ELECTRIC  ROTATIONS.  451 

This  led  me  to  an  explanation  of  the  cause  of  those  rotations, 
wliicli  I  still  venture  to  think  is  the  true  cause,  although  it  is 
not  so  recognized  by  English  philosophers. 

The  history  is  a  curious  one,  and  whether  the  cause  which  I 
assigned  is  right  or  wrong,  the  train  of  thought  by  which  I  was 
led  to  it  is  valuable  as  an  illustration  of  the  mode  in  which  the 
human  mind  works  in  its  progress  towards  new  discoveries. 

The  first  experiment,  shovmag  that  the  weight  suspended 
might  be  increased  at  successive  intervals  of  time,  was  stated 
in  most  treatises  on  magnetism.  But  the  visible  fact  im- 
pressed strongly  on  my  mind  the  conclusion  that  the  pro- 
duction and  discharge  of  magnetism  is  not  instantaneous, 
but  requires  time  for  its  complete  action.  It  appeared^ 
therefore,  to  me  that  this  principle  was  sufficient  for  the 
explanation  of  the  rotations  observed  by  Arago. 

In  the  following  year  it  occurred  to  me  that  electricity 
possessed  the  same  property,  namely,  that  of  requiring  time 
for  its  communication.  I  then  instituted  a  new  series  of 
ex|)eriments,  and  succeeded,  as  I  had  anticipated,  in  produc- 
ing electric  rotations.  But  a  new  fact  now  presented  itself: 
in  certain  cases  the  electric  needle  moved  back  in  the  con- 
trary direction  to  that  indicated  by  the  influences  to  which  it 
was  subjected.  Whenever  this  occurred  the  retrograde 
motion  was  always  very  slow.  After  eliminating  successively 
by  experiment  every  cause  which  I  could  imagine,  the  fact 
which  remained  was,  that  in  certain  cases  there  occurred  a 
motion  in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  which  was  expected. 
But  whenever  such  a  motion  occurred  it  was  always  very 
slow.  Upon  further  reflection,  I  conjectured  that  it  might 
arise  from  the  screen,  interposed  between  the  electric  and 
the  needle  itself,  becoming  electrified  possibly  in  the  opposite 
direction.     New  experiments  confirmed  this  view  and  proved 

2  Q  2 


451  THE  MBCHAXICAL  XOTATION. 

tliat  the  original  canae  ww  iwfliripnt  for  the  ptudoctioii  of  all 
the  ohaenred  eSectft. 

Theae  experiments  and  their  erphinatkm  were  ptmted  in 
the  "^  FhiL  Trans.**  1826.  But  tbej  met  with  so  little  ac- 
ceptance in  England  that  1  had  oeaaed  to  contend  far  them 
against  more  pc^mlar  doctrines^  and  was  too  dee|^  occupied 
with  other  inqoiries  to  enter  on  their  deHoice.  Sey^al 
years  alter,  daring  a  riait  to  Berlin,  taking  a  morning  walk 
with  Mitscherlic'h,  I  asked  what  ezplanaticm  he  adopted 
of  the  magnetic  rotations  of  Arago.  He  instantly  replied, 
^  There  can  be  no  doobt  that  yours  is  the  trae  (me." 

It  will  be  a  carious  circamstance  in  the  histoiy  of  sci^ice, 
if  an  erroneous  explanation  of  new  and  singular  experiments 
in  one  department  should  have  led  to  the  prevision  of  another 
similar  set  of  facts  in  a  different  department,  ajid  even  to 
the  explanation  of  new  &ct8  at  first  apparently  contzadict- 
ing  it 

Mechanical  Noiatian. 

This  also  has  been  described  in  a  former  chapter.  I  look 
upon  it  as  one  of  the  most  important  additions  I  haye  made 
to  human  knowledge.  It  has  placed  the  constmction  of 
machinery  in  the  rank  of  a  demonstrative  science.  The  day 
will  arrive  when  no  school  of  mechanical  drawing  will  be 
thought  complete  without  teaching  it 

OecuUinff  Lights. 

The  great  object  of  all  my  inquiries  has  ever  been  to 
endeavour  to  ascertain  those  laws  of  thought  by  which  m^n 
makes  discoveries.  It  was  by  following  out  one  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  I  had  arrived  at  that  I  was  led  to  the  system  of 
occulting   numerical  lights   for    distinguishing  lighthouses 


PRINCIPLE  OF  INA^ENTION.  453 

and  for  night  signals  at  sea,  which  I  published  about  twelve 
years  ago.    The  principle  I  allude  to  is  this : — 

Whenever  we  meet  with  any  defect  in  the  means  we  are 
contriving  for  the  accomplishing  a  given  object,  that  defect 
should  be  noted  and  reserved  for  future  consideration,  and 
inquiry  should  be  made— 

Whether  thai  which  is  a  defect  as  regards  (he  object  in  view 
may  not  become  a  source  of  advantage  in  some  totally  different 


I  had  for  a  long  series  of  years  been  watching  the  progress 
of  electric,  magnetic,  and  other  lights  of  that  order,  with  the 
view  of  using  them  for  domestic  purposes ;  but  their  want  of 
uniformity  seemed  to  render  them  hc^less  for  that  object. 
Returning  from  a  brilliant  exhibition  of  voltaic  light,  I 
thought  of  applying  tlie  above  rule.  The  accidental  inter- 
ruptions might,  by  breaking  the  circuit,  be  made  to  recur  at 
any  required  intervals.  This  remark  suggested  their  adapta- 
tion to  a  system  of  signals.  But  it  was  immediately  followed 
by  another,  namely:  that  the  interruptions  were  equally 
applicable  to  all  lights,  and  might  be  effected  by  simple  me- 
chanism. 

I  then,  by  means  of  a  small  piex»e  of  clock-work  and  an 
argand  lamp,  made  a  nwmerieal  system  of  occultation,  by 
which  any  number  might  be  transmitted  to  all  those  within 
sight  of  the  source  of  light  Having  placed  this  in  a  window 
of  my  house,  I  walkcnl  down  the  street  to  the  distance  of 
about  250  yards.  On  turning  round  I  perceived  the  number 
32  clearly  indicated  by  its  occultations.  There  was,  however, 
a  small  defect  in  the  apparatus.  After  each  occultation  there 
was  a  kind  of  semi-occultation.  This  arose  from  the  arm 
which  carried  the  shade  rebounding  from  the  stop  on  which 
it  fell.    Aware  that  this  defect  could  be  easily  remedied,  I 


454  UNEXPECTED  DIFFICULTY. 

continued  my  onward  course  for  about  250  yards  more,  with 
my  back  towards  the  light.  On  turning  round  I  was  much 
surprised  to  observe  that  the  signal  32  was  repeated  dis- 
tinctly without  the  slightest  trace  of  any  semi-occultation  or 
blink. 

I  was  very  much  astonished  at  this  change ;  and  on  return- 
ing towards  my  house  had  the  light  constantly  in  view.  After 
advancing  a  short  distance  I  thought  I  perceived  a  yery  faint 
trace  of  the  blink.  At  thirty  or  forty  paces  nearer  it  was 
clearly  visible,  and  at  the  lialf-way  point  it  was  again  per- 
fectly distinct.  I  knew  that  the  remedy  was  easy,  but  I  was 
puzzled  as  to  the  cause. 

After  a  little  reflection  I  concluded  that  it  arose  from  the 
circumstance  that  the  small  hole  through  which  the  light 
passed  was  just  large  enough  to  be  visible  at  five  hundred 
yards,  yet  that  when  the  same  hole  was  partially  covered  by 
the  rebound  there  did  not  remain  sufficient  light  to  be  seen 
at  the  fuU  distance  of  five  hundred  yards. 

Thus  prepared,  I  again  applied  the  principle  I  had  com- 
menced with  and  proceeded  to  examine  whether  this  defect 
might  not  be  converted  into  an  advantage. 

I  soon  perceived  that  a  lighthouse,  whose  number  was 
continually  repeated  with  a  blink,  obscuring  just  half  its 
light,  would  be  seen  without  any  blink  at  all  distances  beyond 
half  its  range ;  but  that  at  all  distances  within  its  half  range 
that  fact  would  be  indicated  by  a  blink.  Thus  with  two 
blinks,  properly  adjusted,  the  distance  of  a  vessel  from  a 
first-class  light  would  be  distinguished  at  from  twenty  to  thirty 
miles  by  occultations  indicating  its  number  without  any  blink ; 
between  ten  and  twenty  miles  by  an  occultation  with  one  blink 
and  within  ten  miles  by  an  occultation  with  two  blinks. 

But  another  advantage  was  also  suggested  by  this  defect. 


OCCULTING  SIGNALS. 


455 


If  the  opaque  cylinder  which  intercepts  the  light  consists  of 
two  cylinders,  A  and  B,  connected  together  by  rods :  thus — 

If  the  compound  cylinder  descend  to  a,  and  then  rise  again,  there  will  be 

a  single  occultation. 
„  „  „  h  „  double  occultation. 

„  „  „  c  „  triple   occultation. 

Such  occultations  are  very  distinct,  and  are  specially  appli- 
cable to  lighthouses. 


In  the  year  1851,  during  the  Great  Exhibition,  the  light 
1  have  described  was  exhibited  from  an  upper  window  of 
my  house  in  Dorset  Street  during  many  weeks.  It  had 
not  passed  unnoticed  by  foreigners,  who  frequently  reminded 
me  that  they  had  passed  my  door  when  I  was  asleep  by 
writing  upon  their  card  the  number  exhibited  by  the  occult- 
ing light  and  dropping  it  into  my  letter-box. 

About  five  or  six  weeks  after  its  first  appearance  I  received 
a  letter  from  a  friend  of  mine  in  the  United  States,  express- 
ing great  interest  about  it,  and  inquiring  whether  its  con- 
struction was  a  secret.     My  answer  was,  that  I  made  no 


456  EXPERUIENT^  IN  AMERICA. 

seoi^t  1.^  it»  and  would  prepare  and  send  him  a  short  descrip- 
tion of  it. 

I  then  i^i^pared  a  description,  of  which  I  had  a  Tery 
few  coj^ies  printed.  I  sent  twelve  of  these  to  the  proper 
authorities  of  the  great  maritime  countries.  Most  of  them 
were  aci\>mpanieil  by  a  private  note  of  my  own  to  some 
)K^r^>n  of  influence  with  whom  I  happened  to  be  acquainted. 

One  of  tliese  was  addressed  to  the  present  Emperor  of  the 
Fitnioh,  then  a  meml^er  of  their  Bepresentative  Chamber.  It 
was  dated  tlie  JkHh  November,  1852.  Three  days  after  I 
read  in  the  newsjiaj^ers  the  account  of  the  coup  of  Decem- 
U^r  2,  and  smiled  at  the  inopportune  time  at  which  my 
letter  had  acindentiUly  been  forwarded.  However,  three 
daj-s  after  I  received  fix)m  M.  Mocquard  the  prettiest  note, 
saying  that  he  was  commanded  by  the  Prince  President  to 
thtmk  me  for  the  communication,  and  to  assure  me  that  the 
Prince  was  as  much  attached  as  ever  to  science,  and  should 
always  continue  to  promote  its  cultivation. 

The  letter  which  was  sent  to  the  United  States  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Coast  Survey.  The  plan  was  highly  ap- 
proved, and  Congress  made  a  grant  of  5,000  dollars,  in  order 
to  try  it  experimentally.  After  a  long  series  of  experiments, 
in  which  its  merits  were  severely  tested,  a  report  was  made  to 
Congress  strongly  recommending  its  adoption.  I  then  received 
a  very  pressing  invitation  to  visit  the  United  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  assisting  to  put  it  in  action.  It  was  conveyed  to 
me  by  an  amiable  and  highly  cultivated  person,  the  late  Mr. 
Keed,  Professor  of  English  Literature  at  Philadelphia,  who,  on 
his  arrival  in  London,  proposed  that  I  should  accompany  him 
on  his  return  in  October,  the  best  season  for  the  voyage,  and 
in  the  finest  vessel  of  their  mercantile  navy.  I  had  long 
Imd  a  great  wish  to  visit  the  American  continent,  but  I  did 


THE  AUTHOR'S  ESCAPE.  457 

not  think  it  worth  crossing  the  Atlantic,  unless  I  could  have 
spent  a  twelyemonth  in  America.  Finding  this  impossible 
under  the  then  circimistances,  about  a  month  before  the 
time  arrived  I  resigned  with  great  reluctance  the  pleasure  of 
accompanying  my  friend  to  his  own  country. 

It  was  most  fortunate  that  I  was  thus  prevented  from 
embarking  on  board  the  Arctic,  a  steamer  of  the  largest  class. 

Steaming  at  the  rate  of  thirteen  knots  an  hour  over  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland  during  a  dense  fog,  the  Arctic  was 
run  into  by  a  steamer  of  about  half  its  size,  mo\nng  at  the 
rate  of  seven  knots.  The  concussion  was  in  this  instance  fatal 
to  the  larger  vessel. 

This  sad  catastrophe  was  thus  described  by  the  brother  of 
my  lost  friend  : — 

"On  the  20th  of  September,  1854,  Mr.  Reed,  with  his 
"  sister,  embarked  at  Liverpool  for  New  York,  in  the  United 
**  States  steamship  Arctic.  Seven  days  afterwards,  at  noon,  on 
*^  the  27th,  when  almost  in  sight  of  his  native  land,  a  fatal 
"  collision  occurred,  and  before  sundown  every  human  be.ing 
*'  left  upon  the  ship  had  sunk  under  the  waves  of  the  ocean. 
'*  The  only  survivor  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  my 
*'  brother,  saw  liim  about  two  o'clock,  p.m.,  after  the  collision, 
**  and  not  very  long  before  the  ship  sank,  sitting  with  his  sister 
**  in  the  small  passage  aft  of  the  dim'ng-saloon.  They  were 
"tranquil  and  silent,  though  their  faces  wore  the  look  of 
"  painful  anxiety.  They  probably  afterwards  left  this  position, 
"  and  repaired  to  the  promenade  deck.  For  a  selfish  struggle 
"  for  life,  with  a  helpless  companion  dependent  upon  him,  with 
*'  a  physical  frame  unsuited  for  such  a  strife,  and  above  all, 
*'  with  a  sentiment  of  religious  resignation  which  taught  him 
"  in  that  hour  of  agony,  even  with  the  memory  of  his  wife  and 
'<  children  thronging  in  his  mind,  to  bow  his  head  in  sub- 


458  OCCULTING  LIGHT  AT  BRUSSELS. 

"  mission  to  the  will  of  God, — ^for  such  a  straggle  he  was 
''wholly  unsuited;  and  his  is  the  praise,  that  he  perished 
"  with  the  women  and  children/' 

In  1853  I  spent  some  weeks  at  Brusseb.  During  my  re- 
sidence in  that  city  a  C!ongress  of  naval  officers  from  all  the 
maritime  nations  assembled  to  discuss  and  agree  upon  certain 
rules  and  observations  to  be  arranged  for  the  common  benefit 
of  all  One  evening  I  had  the  great  pleasare  of  receiving 
the  whole  party  at  my  house  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing 
my  occulting  lights. 

The  portable  occulting  light  which  I  had  brought  with 
me  was  placed  in  the  verandah  on  the  first  floor,  and  we  then 
went  along  the  Boulevards  to  see  its  effect  at  different  dis- 
tances and  with  various  numerical  signals.  On  our  return 
several  papers  relating  to  the  subject  were  lying  upon  the 

table.     The  Russian  representative,  M. ^  took  up  one 

of  the  original  printed  descriptions  and  was  much  interested 
in  it.  On  taking  leave  he  asked,  with  some  hesitation, 
whether  I  would  lend  it  to  him  for  a  few  hours.  I  told  him 
at  once  that  if  I  possessed  another  copy  I  would  willin^y 
give  it  to  him;    but  that  not  being  the  case  I  could  only 

offer  to  lend  it    M. therefore  took  it  home  with  him, 

and  when  I  sat  down  to  breakfast  the  next  morning  I  found 
it  upon  my  table.  In  the  course  of  the  day  I  met  my 
Russian  friend  in  the  Park.  I  expressed  my  hope  that  he 
had  been  interested  by  the  little  tract  he  had  so  speedily 
returned.  He  replied  that  it  had  interested  him  so  much 
that  he  had  sat  up  all  night,  had  copied  the  whole  of  it,  and 
that  his  transcript  and  a  despatch  upon  the  subject  was  now 
on  its  way  by  the  post  to  his  own  Government. 

Several  years  after  I  was  informed   that  ocGuliing   solar 


OCCULTING  SUN  SIGNALS.  469 

lights  were  used  by  the  Russians  during  the  siege  of  Sebas- 

topol. 

Night  Signals. 

The  system  of  occulting  light  applies  with  remarkable  faci- 
lity to  night  signals,  either  on  shore  or  at  sea.  If  it  is  used 
numerically,  it  applies  to  all  the  great  dictionaries  of  the 
various  maritime  nations.  I  may  here  remark,  that  there 
exist  means  by  which  all  such  signals  may,  if  necessary,  be 
communicated  in  cipher. 

Sun  Signals, 

The  distance  at  which  such  signals  can  be  rendered  visible 
exceeds  that  of  any  other  class  of  signals  by  means  of  light 
During  the  Irish  Trigonometrical  Survey,  a  mountain  in 
Scotland  was  observed,  with  an  angular  instrument  from 
a  station  in  Ireland,  at  the  distance  of  108  miles.  This  was 
accomplished  by  stationing  a  party  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  in  Scotland  with  a  looking-glass  of  about  a  foot 
square,  directing  the  sun's  image  to  the  opposite  station.  No 
occultations  were  used ;  but  if  the  mirror  had  been  larger, 
and  occultation  employed,  messages  might  have  been  sent,  and 
the  time  of  residence  ujjon  the  mountain  considembly  dimi- 
nished. When  I  was  occupied  with  occulting  signals,  I  made 
this  widely  kno^n.  I  afterwards  communicated  the  plan, 
during  a  visit  to  Paris,  to  many  of  my  friends  in  that  capital, 
and,  by  request,  to  the  Minister  of  JIarine. 

I  have  observed  in  the  ^'CJomptes  Rendus"  that  the  system 
hfiis  to  a  certain  extent  been  since  used  in  the  south  of  Algeria, 
where,  during  eight  months  of  the  year,  the  sun  is  generally 
unobscured  by  clouds  as  long  as  it  is  above  the  horizon.  I 
have  not,  however,  noticed  in  those  commimications  to  the 
Institute  any  reference  to  my  own  previous  publication. 


4B0  •'jCCULTEIG-  DaTUi^HT  SIGXAL5. 

ZauihrS^  Sgmsb. 

Ano^ier  inrni  of  siniaL  AituaiEm  not  (apttbie  of  i&e  as  ten 
zreat  iistaiices.  may.  huwever.  be  •^mplDyiHi  with,  emaiexsible 
aiiriurQMSR:.  omier  f^atafu  iaccnzii8Cauice&  UnfnaadEirr  *j>i^ 
ecnnomj  ;ir«^  iiB  zreat  aiivaiita^pa.  b  i^onaiscs  of  a  k^-kzz:^- 
g^Ms.  Tirtkrng  aiL  iingie  of  4J^  vidi  tbe  lurnERu  pjaeed  jcuC 
beainii  azL  op^iing  in  a  Ti^iical  bcxud.  Tliis  bem^  stnek  into 
the  •^artiu  the  lishc  of  the  iky  in  tiie  aenilh.  vhiek  is  leittllT 
the  brightest*  will  be  proj»*cteti  hoRaanfinIIy  thmngK  tbe  ofen- 
iatz;  in  whaleTer  iiiretTtioa  the  peisoa  to  be  eoauciinnted 
witb  may  be  pua^^ed.  The  petsaa  who  mak^  tlie  ssiMk 
nmst  fttiuni  oa  one  aie  m  front  «>f  the  iikstnimefit :  mod.  br 
{Mteriin;!  hi:§  hat  «ii>«Iy  befixe  the  aperture  mny  nomber  of 
times,  may  ihns  expnsss  €aeii  amtV  figure  of  his  agiuiL 

H«>  most  then.  lastTing  the  light  Tiabie,  paoae  whilst  he 
deliberatdy  counts  to  hinkseif  ten. 

fie  miBt  then  with  hk  hat  make  a  number  of  occnltadons 
eqnal  to  the  tens  figure  he  wkhes  to  expceasL 

This  most  be  OKitinQed  &x  each  figure  in  the  number  of 
the  signal,  always  panAig  between  eacb  daring  tbe  time  of 
coanting  ten. 

When  the  end  of  the  signal  is  terminated,  he  most  coont 
sixt J  in  the  same  manner ;  and  if  the  signal  he  gare  has 
not  been  acknowledged,  he  shoold  repeat  it  mitil  it  has  been 
oLserred. 

The  same  simple  telegraf^  may  be  need  in  a  dark  night, 
by  sabstitnting  a  lantern  for  the  looking-glafl&  The  whole 
apparatus  is  simple  and  cheap,  and  can  be  easily  carried  even 
by  a  small  boy. 

I  was  led  to  this  contrivance  many  years  ago  by  reading  an 
account  of  a  vessel  stranded  within  thirty  yards  of  the  sliore. 


SHIPWRECK  SIGNALS.  461 

Its  crew  consisted  of  thirteen  people,  ten  of  whom  got  into 
the  boat^  leaving  the  master,  who  thought  himself  safer  in  the 
ship,  with  two  others  of  the  crew. 

The  boat  put  off  from  the  ship,  keeping  as  much  out  of  the 
breakers  as  it  could,  and  looking  out  for  a  fayourable  place 
for  landing.  The  people  on  shore  followed  the  boat  for  se- 
veral miles,  urging  them  not  to  attempt  landing.  But  not  a 
single  word  was  audible  by  the  boat's  crew,  who,  after  rowing 
several  miles,  resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  first  favour- 
able lull.  They  did  so— the  boat  was  knocked  to  pieces,  and 
the  whole  crew  were  drowned.  If  the  people  on  the  shore 
could  at  that  moment  have  communicated  with  the  boat's  crew, 
they  could  have  informed  them  that,  by  continuing  their 
course  for  half  a  mile  further,  they  might  turn  into  a  cove, 
and  land  almost  dry. 

I  was  much  impressed  by  the  want  of  easy  communication 
between  stranded  vessels  and  those  on  shore  who  might 
rescue  them. 

I  can  even  now  scarcely  believe  it  credible  that  the  very 
simple  means  I  am  about  to  mention  has  not  been  adopted 
years  ago.  A  list  of  about  a  hundred  questions,  relating  to 
directions  and  inquiries  required  to  be  communicated  between 
the  crew  of  a  stranded  ship  and  those  on  shore  who  wish  to 
aid  it,  would,  I  am  told,  be  amply  sufficient  for  such  purposes. 
Now,  if  such  a  list  of  inquiries  were  prepared  and  printed  by 
competent  authority,  any  system  of  signals  by  which  a  number 
of  two  places  of  figures  can  be  expressed  might  be  used.  This 
list  of  inquiries  and  answers  ought  to  be  printed  on  cards,  and 
nailed  up  on  several  parts  of  every  vessel  It  would  be  still 
better,  by  conference  with  other  maritime  nations,  to  adopt 
the  sAme  system  of  signs,  and  to  have  them  printed  in  each 
language.     A  looking-glass,  a  board  with  a  hole  in  it,  and  a 


462  SHORT  DISTANCE  SIGNALS. 

lautem  would  be  all  the  apparatos  required.  The  lan- 
tern might  be  used  for  night,  and  the  locddng-glaaB  for  daj 
signals. 

These  simple  and  inexpensiye  signals  might  be  oocasi0naIlT 
found  useful  for  various  social  purposes. 

Two  neighbours  in  the  country  whose  houses,  though  reci- 
procally visible,  are  separated  by  an  interval  of  several  miles* 
might  occasionally  telegraph  to  each  other. 

If  the  looking-glass  were  of  large  size,  its  light  and  its 
occultation  might  be  seen  perhaps  fix)m  six  to  ten  mfles,  and 
thus  become  by  daylight  a  cheap  guiding  light  through  chan- 
nels and  into  harbours. 

It  may  also  become  a  question  whether  it  might  not  in 
some  cases  save  the  expense  of  buoying  certain  channels. 

For  railway  signals  during  daylight  it  might  in  some  cases 
be  of  great  advantage,  by  saving  the  erection  of  very  lofty 
poles  carrying  dark  frames  through  which  the  light  of  the  sky 
is  admitted. 

Amongst  my  early  experiments,  I  made  an  occulting  hand- 
lantern,  with  a  shade  for  occulting  by  the  pressure  of  the 
thumb,  and  with  two  other  shades  of  red  and  of  green  glass. 
This  might  be  made  available  for  military  purposes,  or  for 
the  police. 

Oreenwich  Time  Signals. 

It  has  been  thought  very  desirable  that  a  signal  to  indicate 
Greenwich  time  should  be  placed  on  the  Start  Point,  the 
last  spot  which  ships  going  down  the  Channel  on  distant 
voyages  usually  sight. 

The  advantage  of  such  an  arrangement  arises  from  this— 
that  chronometers  having  had  their  rates  ascertained  on 
shore,  may  have  them  somewhat  altered  by  the  motions  to 


GREENWICH  TIME  SIGNALS.  4G3 

which  they  are  submitted  at  sea.  If,  therefore,  after  a  run 
of  above  two  hundred  miles,  they  can  be  informed  of  the 
exact  Greenwich  time,  the  sea  rate  of  their  chronometers 
will  be  obtained. 

Of  course  no  other  difiSculty  than  that  of  expense  occurs 
in  transmitting  Greenwich  time  by  electricity  to  any  points 
on  our  coast  The  real  difficulty  is  to  convey  it  to  the  pass- 
ing vessels.  The  firing  of  a  cannon  at  certain  fixed  hours  has 
been  proposed,  but  this  plan  is  encumbered  by  requiring  the 
knowledge  of  the  distance  of  the  vessel  from  the  gun,  and 
also  from  the  variation  of  the  velocity  of  the  transmission  of 
sound  under  various  circumstances. 

During  the  night  the  flash  arising  from  ignited  gunpowder 
might  be  employed.  But  this,  in  case  of  rain  or  other  atmo- 
spheric circumstances,  might  be  impeded.  The  best  plan  for 
night-signals  would  be  to  have  an  occulting  light,  which 
might  be  that  of  the  lighthouse  itself,  or  another  specially 
reserved  for  the  purpose. 

During  the  day,  and  when  the  sun  is  shining,  the  time 
might  be  transmitted  by  the  occultations  of  reflected  solar 
light,  which  would  be  seen  at  any  distance  the  curvature  of 
the  earth  admitted. 

The  application  of  my  Zenith  Light  might  perhaps  fulfil 
all  the  required  conditions  during  dayUght 

I  have  foimd  that,  even  in  the  atmosphere  of  Ix)ndon,  an 
opening  only  five  inc^hes  square  can  be  distinctly  seen,  and  its 
occultations  counted  by  the  naked  eye  at  the  distance  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  If  the  side  of  the  opening  were  double 
the  former,  then  the  light  transmitted  to  the  eye  would  bo 
four  times  as  great,  and  the  occultations  might  be  observed 
at  the  distance  of  one  mile. 

The  looking-glass  employed  must  have  its  side  nearly  in 


464 


TEMPLE  OF  SERAPIS. 


the  proportion  of  three  to  two,  so  that  one  of  five  feet 
seven  and  a  half  ought  to  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  ab 
eight  or  nine  miles. 

Oeohffieal  Theory  of  IwQiermal  Surfaces. 

During  one  portion  of  my  residence  at  Naples  my  attent 
was  concentrated  upon  what  in  my  opinion  is  the  most 
markable  building  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  Temph 
Serapis,  at  Puzzuoli.* 

It  was  obviously  built  at  or  above  the  leyel  of  the  M< 
terranean  in  order  to  profit  by  a  hot  spring  which  suppl 
its  numerous  baths.  There  is  unmistakable  evidence  the 
has  subsided  below  the  present  level  of  the  sea,  at  h 
twenty-five  feet ;  that  it  must  have  remained  there  daring  m 
years ;  that  it  then  rose  gradually  up,  probably  to  its  fon 
level,  and  that  during  the  last  twenty  years  it  has  been  a{ 
slowly  subsiding. 

The  results  of  this  survey  led  me  in  the  following  yea 
explain  the  various  elevations  and  depressions  of  poitioni 
the  earth's  surfiEtce,  at  different  periods  of  time,  by  a  the 
which  I  have  called  the  theory  of  the  earth's  isother 
surfaces. 

I  do  not  think  the  importance  of  that  theory  has  been  y 
understood  by  geologists,  who  are  not  always  sufficiei 
acquainted  with  physical  science.  The  late  Sir  Henry  D< 
Beche  perceived  at  an  early  period  the  great  light  tl 
sciences  might  throw  upon  his  own  favourite   pursuit, 

*  In  this  inquiry  I  profited  by  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Head,  now 
Right  Hon.  Sir  Edmund  Head,  Bart.,  K.C.B.,  late  Govemor-Gener 
Canada.  An  abstract  of  my  own  observations  was  printed  in  the  **  Abst 
of  Proceedings  "  of  the  Geological  Society,  voL  iL  p.  72.  My  friend's  b 
rical  views  were  printed  in  the  ^  Transactions  **  of  the  Antiquarian  Soci 


GAMES  OP^KILL  CAN  BE  PLAYED  BY  AN  AUTOMATON.    466 

was  himself  always  anxious  to  bring  them  to  bear  upon 
geology, 

I  am  still  more  confirmed  in  my  opinion  of  the  importance 
of  the  "  Theory  of  Isothermal  Surfaces  in  Geology  "  fix)m  the 
fact  that  a  few  years  afterwards  my  friend  Sir  John  Herschel 
arriyed  independently  at  precisely  the  same  theory.  I  have 
stated  this  at  length  in  the  notes  to  the  "  Ninth  Bridgewater 
Treatise." 

Games  of  Skill. 

A  considerable  time  after  the  translation  of  Menabrea's 
memoir  had  been  published,  and  after  I  had  made  many 
drawings  of  the  Analytical  Engine  and  all  its  parts,  I  began 
to  meditate  upon  the  intellectual  means  by  which  I  had 
reached  to  such  advanced  and  even  to  such  unexpected 
results.  I  reviewed  in  my  mind  the  various  principles  which 
I  had  touched  upon  in  my  published  and  unpublished  papers, 
and  dwelt  with  satisfaction  upon  the  power  which  I  possessed 
over  mechanism  through  the  aid  of  the  Mechanical  Notation. 
I  felt^  however,  that  it  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  the 
minds  of  others,  and  even  in  some  measure  to  my  own,  that 
I  should  try  the  power  of  such  principles  as  I  had  laid  down, 
by  assuming  some  question  of  an  entirely  new  kind,  and 
endeavouring  to  solve  it  by  the  aid  of  those  principles  which 
had  so  successfully  guided  me  in  other  cases. 

After  much  consideration  I  selected  for  my  test  the  con- 
trivance of  a  machine  that  should  be  able  to  play  a  game  of 
purely  intellectual  skill  successfully ;  such  as  tit-tat-to,  drafts, 
chess,  &c. 

I  endeavoured  to  ascertain  the  opinions  of  persons  in  every 
class  of  life  and  of  all  ages,  whether  they  thought  it  required 
human  reason  to  play  games  of  skill.    The  almost  constant 

2  H 


4IJ6     GAMES  OP  SKILL  CAN  BE  PLAYED  ET  AN  AUTOMJtTOX. 

answer  was  in  the  affinnatiTe.  Some  soppoited  tlw  rieiw  of 
tho  caso  by  obserring,  that  if  it  were  otherwise^  then  an 
autoinatrin  could  play  such  games.  A  few  of  those  who  had 
(M>nHiderable  acquaintance  with  mathematicail  science  allowed 
tho  possibility  of  machinery  being  ciqiaUe  of  such  w«3fk; 
but  they  most  stoutly  denied  the  possibility  of  ccxitriTin^ 
such  machinery  on  account  of  the  myriads  of  oomhinadons 
which  oven  the  simplest  games  included. 

On  the  first  part  of  my  inquiry  I  soon  arrived  at  a  demon- 
stration that  every  game  of  skill  is  susceptible  of  being  plaved 
by  an  automaton. 

Further  consideration  showed  that  if  any  pogilion  of  the 
men  upon  the  board  were  assumed  (whether  that  poeitioa 
were  possible  or  impossible),  then  if  the  automaton  could 
make  the  first  move  rightly,  he  must  be  able  to  win  the 
game,  always  supposing  that,  under  the  given  position  of  the 
men,  that  conclusion  were  possible. 

Whatever  move  the  automaton  made,  another  move  would 
be  made  by  his  adversary.  Now  this  altered  state  of  the 
board  is  one  amongst  the  many  jxmiions  of  the  men  in  which, 
by  the  previous  paragraph,  the  automaton  was  supposed 
capable  of  acting. 

Hence  the  question  is  reduced  to  that  of  Tn^lnng  the  best 
move  under  any  possible  combinations  of  positions  of  the  men. 

Now  the  several  questions  the  automaton  has  to  consider 
are  of  this  nature : — 

1.  Is  the  position  of  the  men,  as  placed  before  him  on 

the  board,  a  possible  position  ?  that  is,  one  which 
is  consistent  with  the  rules  of  the  game  ? 

2.  If  so,  has  Automaton  himself  already  lost  the  game  ? 

3.  If  not,  then  has  Automaton  won  the  game  ? 


NUMBER  OP  THE  COMBINATIONS.  467 

4.  If  not^  can  he  win  it  at  the  next  move  ?    If  so,  make 

that  moye. 

5.  If  not^  could  his  adyersary,  if  he  had  the  moye,  win 

the  game. 

6.  If  80,  Automaton  must  preyent  him  if  possible. 

7.  If  his  adyersary  cannot  win  the  game  at  his  next 

moye,  Automaton  must  examine  whether  he  can 
make  such  a  moye  that,  if  he  were  allowed  to 
haye  two  moyes  in  succession,  he  could  at  the 
second  moye  haye  two  different  ways  of  winning 
the  game ; 

and  each  of  these  cases  failing,  Automaton  must  look  forward 
to  three  or  more  successiye  moyes. 

Now  I  haye  already  stated  that  in  the  Analytical  Engine  I 
had  deyised  mechanical  means  equiyalent  to  memory,  also 
that  I  had  proyided  other  means  equiyalent  to  foresight,  and 
that  the  Engine  itself  could  act  on  this  foresight. 

In  consequence  of  this  the  whole  question  of  making  an 
automaton  play  any  game  depended  upon  the  possibility  of 
the  machine  being  able  to  represent  all  the  myriads  of  com- 
binations relating  to  it.  Allowing  one  hundred  moyes  on  each 
side  for  the  longest  game  at  chess,  I  found  that  the  combina- 
tions inyolyed  in  the  Analytical  Engine  enormously  surpassed 
any  required,  eyen  by  the  game  of  chess. 

Ab  soon  as  I  had  arriyed  at  this  conclusion  I  commenced 
an  examination  of  a  game  called  ''  tit-tat-to,"  usually  played 
by  little  children.  It  is  the  simplest  game  with  which  I  am 
acquainted.  Each  player  has  fiye  counters,  one  set  marked 
with  a  +,  the  other  set  with  an  O.  The  board  consists  of 
a  square  diyided  into  nine  smaller  squares,  and  the  object 
of  each  player  is  to  get  three  of  his  own  men  in  a  straight 

2  H  2 


468  GAME  OF  TIT-TAT-TO. 

line.  One  man  is  put  on  the  board  by  each  player  alter- 
nately. In  practice  no  board  is  used,  but  the  children  draw 
upon  a  bit  of  paper,  or  on  their  slat-e,  a  figure  like  any  of  the 
following. 

The  successive  moves  of  the  two  players  may  be  repre- 
sented as  follow : — 

Moves.  1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7. 

__J L.  _J !—      I  _  1+      11+  ±J L±  -n  oj-f  +1  o  1  + 

_J !_      lo  I         I  oi  iQ  I         |0|  I  Q  1  +  I  o  I 

+  1     I  +1     I  +1     I       4-1     |0+|     lo+i      |0  +T~~1^ 

In  this  case  +  wins  at  the  seventh  move. 

The  next  step  I  made  was  to  ascertain  what  number  of 
combinations  were  required  for  all  the  possible  variety  of 
moves  and  situations.  I  found  this  to  be  comparatively 
iQsignificant. 

I  therefore  easily  sketched  out  mechanism  by  which  such 
an  automaton  might  be  guided.  Hitherto  I  had  considered 
only  the  philosophical  view  of  the  subject,  but  a  new  idea 
now  entered  my  head  which  seemed  to  oflFer  some  chance  of 
enabling  me  to  acquire  the  funds  necessary  to  complete  the 
Analytical  Engine. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  if  an  automaton  were  made  to  play 
this  game,  it  might  be  surrounded  with  such  attractive  cir- 
cumstances that  a  very  popular  and  profitable  exhibition  might 
be  produced.  I  imagined  that  the  machine  might  consist  of 
the  figures  of  two  children  playing  against  each  other, 
accompanied  by  a  lamb  and  a  cock.  That  the  child  who 
won  the  game  might  clap  his  hands  whilst  the  cock  was 
crowing,  after  which,  that  the  child  who  was  beaten  might  cry 
and  wring  his  hands  whilst  the  lamb  began  bleating. 

I  then  proceeded  to  sketch  various  mechanical  means  by 
which  every  action  could  be  produced.  These,  when  com- 
pared with  those  I  had  employed  for  the  Analytical  Engine, 


DIFFICULTY  ARISING  FROM  CHOICE.  469 

were  remarkably  simple.  A  difficulty,  however,  arose  of  a 
novel  kind.  It  will  have  been  observed,  in  the  explanation  I 
gave  of  the  Analytical  Engine,  that  cases  arose  in  which  it 
became  necessary,  on  the  occurrence  of  certain  conditions, 
that  the  machine  itself  should  select  one  out  of  two  or  more 
distinct  modes  of  calculation.  The  particular  one  to  be 
adopted  could  only  be  known  when  those  calculations  on 
which  the  selection  depended  had  been  already  made. 

The  new  difficulty  consisted  in  this,  that  when  the  automaton 
had  to  move,  it  might  occur  that  there  were  two  different 
moves,  each  equally  conducive  to  his  winning  the  game.  In 
this  case  no  reason  existed  within  the  machine  to  direct  his 
choice :  unless,  also,  some  provision  were  made,  the  machine 
would  attempt  two  contradictory  motions. 

The  first  remedy  I  devised  for  this  defect  was  to  make  the 
macliino  keep  a  record  of  the  number  of  games  it  had  won 
from  the  commencement  of  its  existence.  Whenever  two 
moves,  which  we  may  call  A  and  B,  were  equally  conducive 
to  winning  the  game,  the  automaton  was  made  to  consult  the 
record  of  the  number  of  the  games  he  had  won.  If  that 
number  happened  to  be  even,  he  was  directed  to  take  the 
course  A ;  if  it  were  odd,  ho  was  to  take  the  course  B. 

K  there  were  three  nioves  equally  possible,  the  automaton 
was  directed  to  divide  the  niunber  of  games  he  had  won  by 
three.  In  this  case  the  numbers  0,  1,  or  2  might  be  the 
remainder,  and  the  machine  was  directed  to  take  the  course 
A,  B,  or  C  accordingly. 

It  is  obvious  that  any  number  of  conditions  might  be  thus 
provided  for.  An  inquiring  spectator,  who  observed  the 
games  played  by  the  automaton,  might  watch  a  long  time 
before  ho  discovered  the  principle  uiwn  which  it  acted.  It 
is   also   worthy   of   remark   how   admirably   this   illustrates 


470  EXHIBITION  OF  AUTOMATON. 

the  best  definitions  of  chance  by  the  philosopher  and  the 

poet: — 

**  Chance  is  but  the  expression  of  man's  ignorance." — Laplacb. 
"  All  chance,  design  ill  understood.*' — Pope. 

Having  ftdly  satisfied  myself  of  the  power  of  making  sach 
an  automaton^  the  next  step  was  to  ascertain  whether  there 
was  any  probability,  if  it  were  exhibited  to  the  public,  of  its 
producing,  in  a  moderate  time,  such  a  sum  of  money  as  would 
enable  me  to  construct  the  Analytical  Engine,  A  friend,  to 
whom  I  had  at  an  early  period  communicated  the  idea,  enter- 
tained great  hopes  of  its  pecimiary  success.  When  it  became 
known  that  an  automaton  could  beat  not  merely  children  but 
even  papa  and  mamma  at  a  child's  game,  it  aeemed  not 
unreasonable  to  expect  that  every  child  who  heard  of  it  would 
ask  mamma  to  see  it.  On  the  other  hand,  every  mamma, 
and  some  few  papas,  who  heard  of  it  would  doubtless  take 
their  children  to  so  singular  and  interesting  a  sight.  I 
resolved,  on  my  return  to  London,  to  make  inquiries  as  to 
the  relative  productiveness  of  the  various  exhibitions  of  recent 
years,  and  also  to  obtain  some  rough  estimate  of  the  probable 
time  it  would  take  to  construct  the  automaton,  as  well  as 
some  approximation  to  the  expense. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  if  half  a  dozen  were  made,  they 
might  be  exhibited  in  three  different  places  at  the  same  time. 
Each  exhibitor  might  then  have  an  automaton  in  reserve  in 
case  of  €ux;idental  injury.  On  my  return  to  town  I  made  the 
inquiries  I  alluded  to,  and  found  that  the  English  machine  for 
making  Latin  verses,  the  Grerman  talking-machine,  as  well  as 
several  others,  were  entire  failures  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view.  I  also  found  that  the  most  profitable  exhibition  which 
had  occurred  for  many  years  was  that  of  the  little  dwarf. 
General  Tom  Thumb. 


CAUSES  OP  MAGNETIC  CHANGES.  471 

On  considering  the  whole  question,  I  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion, that  to  conduct  the  affair  to  a  successful  issue  it  would 
occupy  so  much  of  my  own  time  to  contrive  and  execute  the 
machinery,  and  then  to  superintend  the  working  out  of  the 
plan,  that  even  if  successful  in  point  of  pecuniary  profit,  it 
would  be  too  late  to  avail  myself  of  the  money  thus  acquired 
to  complete  the  Analytical  Engine. 

Problem  of  the  Three  Magnetic  Bodies. 

The  problem  of  the  three  bodies,  which  has  cost  such  un- 
wearied labour  to  so  many  of  the  highest  intellects  of  this 
and  the  past  age,  is  simple  compared  with  another  which  is 
o|>ening  upon  us.  We  now  possess  a  very  extensive  series  of 
well-recorded  observations  of  the  positions  of  the  magnetic 
needle,  in  various  parts  of  our  globe,  during  about  thirty 
years. 

Certain  periods  of  changes  of  about  ten  or  eleven  years  are 
said  to  be  indicated  as  connected  with  changes  in  the  amount 
of  solar  spots ;  bat  the  inductive  evidence  scarcely  rests  upon 
three  periods,  and  it  seems  more  probable  that  these  effects 
arise  from  some  common  cause. 

(1.)  It  has  been  long  known  that  the  earth  has  at  least 
two  if  not  more  magnetic  poles. 

(2.)  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  sun  and  moon  also 
have  several  magnetic  poles. 

(3.)  In  1826  I  proved  that  when  a  magnet  is  brought  into 
proximity  to  a  piece  of  matter  capable  of  becom- 
ing magnetic,  the  magnetism  communicated  by 
it  requires  time  for  its  full  development  in  the 
body  magnetized.  Also  that  when  the  influence 
of  the  magnet  is  removed,  the  magnetized  body 
requires  time  to  i*egain  its  former  state. 


472  ELECTRIC  CHANGES, 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  required,  haying  assumed  certain 
positions  for  the  poles  of  these  rarious  magnetic  bodies,  to 
calculate  their  reciprocal  influences  in  changing  the  positions 
of  those  poles  on  the  other  bodies.  The  development  of  the 
equations  representing  these  forces  will  indicate  cycles  wliich 
really  belong  to  the  nature  of  the  subject  The  comparisons 
of  a  long  series  of  observations  with  recorded  £Etct8  will 
ultimately  enable  us  to  determine  both  the  number  and 
position  of  those  poles  upon  each  body. 

Electricity  possesses  an  analogous  property  with  respect  to 
time  being  required  for  its  full  action.  If  the  bodies  of  our 
system  influence  each  other  electrically,  other  developments 
will  be  required  and  other  cycles  discovered. 

When  the  equations  resulting  from  the  actions  of  these 
causes  are  formed,  and  means  of  developing  them  arranged, 
the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the  work  comes  under  the  domain  of 
machinery. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

BESULTS    OF   8CIEN0E. 

Board  of  Longitude — Professorship  of  Mathematics  at  the  East  India 
College — Professorship  of  Mathematics  at  Edinburgh — Secretaryship  of 
the  Royal  Society — Master  of  the  Mint — Ditto— Ditto— -Registrar- 
General  of  Births,  Deaths,  and  Marriages — Ditto — Commissioner  of 
Railways — Ditto — Ditto  Abolished. 

At  the  commencement  of  life  I  had  hoped  that»  whilst  I 
indulged  in  the  pmmiits  of  science,  I  might  derive  from  it 
some  advantages  for  my  family,  or  at  least,  that  it  might 
enable  me  to  replace  a  small  portion  of  the  large  expenditure, 
without  which  one  of  my  most  important  discoveries  could 
not  be  practically  worked  out 

I  shall  now  mention  briefly  several  of  those  appointments 
for  which  I  had  the  vanity  to  suppose  myself  qualified,  and 
the  simplicity  to  believe  that  fitness  for  the  office  was  of  the 
slightest  use  without  interest  to  get  the  appointment. 

1.  Intheearlypartof  1816  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics 
at  the  East  India  College  at  Haileybury  became  vacant  The 
salary,  I  believe,  was  500/.  a-year.  I  became  a  candidate,  and 
had  strong  recommendations  from  Ivory  and  Playfair.  I  was 
informed  that  it  was  usual  for  the  candidates  to  call  on  the 
Directors.  I  did  so.  One  of  them  was  an  honest  man,  for 
he  was  kind  enough  to  tell  me  the  truth.  lie  said,  "  If  you 
\m\o  interest,  you  will  get  it ;  if  not,  you  will  not  succeed." 


474  BOARD  OF  LONGITUDE. 

2.  In  1819  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics  at  Edinburgh 
became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Playfair,  and  the  succession 
of  Professor  Leslie  to  his  chair.  I  immediately  became  a 
candidate,  and  received  testimony  of  my  fitness  from  Lacroix, 
Biot,  and  Laplace. 

These  communications,  though  gratifying  to  myself,  were 
useless  for  the  object.  Not  being  a  Scot,  I  was  rejected  at 
Edinburgh.  That  visit,  however,  led  to  a  very  agreeable  in- 
cident I  spent  a  delightful  week  at  Kinneil  with  Dugald 
Stewart.  The  second  volume  of  his  "Philosophy  of  the 
Human  Mind  "  had  fortunately  fallen  into  my  hands  at  an 
early  jieriod  during  my  residence  at  Cambridge,  and  I  had 
derived  much  instruction  from  that  valuable  work. 

3.  About  this  time,  in  a  conversation  with  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  I  mentioned  my  wish  to  have  a  seat  at  the  Board  of 
Longitude — ^an  office  to  which  a  salary  of  100/.  a-year  was 
attached.  Although  not  then  appointed,  hopes  were  held  out 
by  Sir  Joseph  that  at  some  futiu'e  occasion  I  might  be  more 
successful.  In  1820  another  vacancy  occurred  in  the  Board 
of  Longitude.  I  called  on  Sir  Joseph  Banks  to  ask  his 
influence  with  the  Admiralty ;  this  he  declined,  alleging  as 
a  reason  for  withholding  it, — ^the  part  I  had  taken  in  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Astronomical  Society. 

I  was  one  of  its  founders,  had  been  one  of  its  first  Hono- 
rary Secretaries,  and  had  taken  an  active  part  in  that  Com- 
mittee, by  which  the  **  Nautical  Almanac  "  was  remodelled 

4.  In  1824  an  oi)portunity  unexpectedly  presented  itself.  I 
was  invited  to  take  the  entire  organization  and  management 
of  an  office  for  the  assurance  of  lives,  then  about  to  be  esta- 
blished. 

It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  amongst  our  officers  were  the 
late  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  the  late  Lord  Abercrombie,  the 


LIFE  ASSURANCE  OPnCE.  476 

present  Master  of  the  Bolls,  and  the  present  Judge  of  the 
Admiralty  Court;  and  that  our  direction  included  some  of 
tlie  first  merchants  in  the  City,  two  or  three  Directors  of 
the  Bank  of  England,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  India 
Directors. 

The  proposition  made  to  me  was  that  I  should  have  the 
entire  management  of  the  concern  as  Director  and  Actuary, 
with  a  salary  of  1,500/.  a-year,  and  apartments  in  the  esta- 
blishment, with  liberty  to  practise  as  an  Actuary. 

On  consulting  my  friend  tlie  late  Francis  Baily,  F.RS., 
who  had  himself  practised  as  an  Actuary,  he  strongly  advised 
me  to  accept  the  office.  He  assured  me  that  the  profit  arising 
from  private  practice  could  scarcely  be  less  than  1,000/.  a 
year,  and  would  probably  be  much  more. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  accepted  the  proposition.  On 
examining  the  materials  which  existed  for  a  Table  of  the  value 
of  lives,  I  found  in  one  of  the  addresses  of  Mr.  Morgan,  the 
Actuary  of  the  Equitable,  materials  with  which  to  construct, 
by  the  aid  of  various  calculations,  a  very  tolerable  Table  of 
the  actual  mortality  in  that  Society.  Upon  this  basis  I  cal- 
culated the  Tables  of  our  new  Institution.  After  three  months' 
labour,  when  the  whole  of  the  arrangements  had  been  com- 
pleted, and  the  day  for  our  opening  had  been  fixed,  circum- 
stances occurred  which  induced  us  to  give  up  the  plan.  After 
the  experience  I  had  now  had  of  the  amount  of  time  occupied 
by  such  an  office,  I  was  unwilling  to  renew  the  engagement 
with  other  parties.  I  hoped  by  great  exertions  to  complete 
the  Difference  Engine  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years,  and  that  I 
should  not  be  allowed  to  become  a  serious  loser  by  that  course. 

The  Institution  was  therefore  given  up,  and  we  each  contri- 
buted about  100/.  to  discharge  the  expenses  incurred. 

Within  the  subsequent  twelvemonth,  an  H[>i)li(*ation  to  take 


476  GERMAN  ASSURANCE  COMPANIES. 

the  management  of  another  Life  Assurance  Society  was  made 
to  me,  which  I  declined.     That  office  is  still  in  existence. 

The  information  and  experience  I  had  thus  gained  led  me 
to  think  that  the  public  were  not  sufficiently  informed 
respecting  the  nature  of  assurances  on  lives,  and  that  a  small 
popular  work  on  the  subject  might  be  usefiiL  I  prepared 
such  a  work  as  intervals  of  leisure  admitted,  and  early  in 
1826  published  it  under  the  title  of  "  A  Comparative  View  of 
the  various  Institutions  for  the  Assurance  of  Lives."  This 
little  volume  was  soon  translated  into  German,  and  became 
tlie  groimdwork  upon  which  the  Great  Life  Assurance  Society 
of  Gotha  was  founded.  Every  year  since  that  event  I  have 
received  a  copy  of  the  report  of  the  state  of  the  Listitution 
— a  gratifying  attention  which  I  am  happy  to  have  this 
opportunity  of  acknowledging. 

The  wish  expressed  by  my  translator,  in  his  Preface,*  has 
also  been  fulfilled  by  the  establishment  of  many  other  excel- 
lent Life  Assurance  Offices,  founded  on  similar  principles. 

In  Germany  alone  there  were,  in  1860,  twenty-four  Life 
Assurance  Companies,  in  which  about  260,000  persons  were 
assured  to  the  amount  of  upwards  of  forty  millions  sterling. 
The  oldest  and  most  successful  of  these  institutions  have 
adopted  my  Table  of  the  Equitable  experience,  and  I  am 
informed  that  it  agrees  very  well  with  the  results  of  their  own 
experience  up  to  about  the  fifty-seventh  year.  After  this  the 
deaths  are  rather  more  frequent  than  those  of  the  Equitable. 

Another  still  more  gratifying  result  arose.  My  father, 
whose  acquaintance  with  mercantile  affairs  was  very  exten- 

*  '*  May  this  book  soon  give  rise  to  many  flourishing  life  assurance  ooni- 
ixinics  in  our  beloved  fatherland,  by  which  proportionate  wealth  and  hapt>i- 
ncss  may  bo  promoted  amongst  us,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  for  the 
decline  of  lotteries." — German  trandation  of  Babbage  on  Lift  AxsuTvakix. 


MASTERSHIP  OF  THE  MINT.  477 

sive,  was  so  pleased  with  the  little  book  that,  during  the  two 
last  years  of  his  life,  he  read  it  tlirough  three  times. 

5.  In  1846  the  Mastership  of  the  Mint  became  vacant.  In 
former  days  it  was  held  by  Newton.  I  had  pointed  it  out  in 
"  The  Decline  of  Science  "  as  one  of  those  offices  to  which 
men  of  science  might  reasonably  aspire.  A  complete  acquaint- 
ance with  the  most  advanced  state  of  meclianical  science, 
which  the  demands  of  my  own  machinery  had  compelled  me 
to  improve,  added  to  a  knowledge  of  the  internal  economy  of 
manufactories,  appeared  to  me  to  constitute  fair  claims  to  that 
office. 

In  the  event  of  my  succeeding,  I  had  proposed  to  let  the 
whole  of  my  salary  accumulate,  so  that  at  the  end  of  ten  or 
twelve  years  I  might  retire  from  the  office,  and  be  enabled, 
with  the  20,000/.  thus  earned,  to  construct  the  Analytical 
Engine. 

I  wrote  to  Lord  Melbourne  on  the  subject,  but  I  did  not 
mention  that  circumstance  even  to  my  most  intimate  friends. 
It  came,  however,  to  the  knowledge  of  one  of  them,  who  took 
a  very  warm  interest  in  my  success ;  and  I  believe  that  at 
first  I  had  a  very  fair  chance.  The  appointment  remained 
for  a  short  time  in  abeyance ;  but  it  was  found  necessary  to 
detach  Sheil  from  O'Connell,  and  the  appointment  was  there- 
fore given  to  Sheil. 

Some  years  after,  when  Sheil  was  appointed  our  Minister 
at  the  court  of  Tuscany,  he  asked  me  to  give  him  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  II.  Of  course  I 
treated  the  application  as  a  joke ;  but  Sheil  assured  me  that 
he  was  quite  serious,  and  that  he  knew  it  would  be  of  use  to 
him.  I  therefore  gave  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a 
sovereign  from  whom  both  before  and  subsequently  I  have 
been  honoured  by  many  gratifying  attentions. 


478  REGTSTRAIUGENERAL  OP  BIRTHS,  &c. 

6.  In  1849y  on  the  promotion  of  Sheil^  the  Mastership  of 
the  Mint  again  became  vacant.  I  thought  my  oivn  claims 
sufficiently  known  to  the  public ;  but  I  had  no  political  in- 
terest My  friend  Sir  John  Herschel  was  more  fortunate, 
and  he  received  the  appointment. 

7.  After  a  few  years,  the  office  again  became  yacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Sir  John  HerscheL  The  Government  had  now 
for  the  third  time  an  opportunity  of  partially  repairing  its 
former  neglect  I  had,  however,  no  political  party  to  support 
me,  and  the  present  Master  of  the  Mint,  Mr.  Graham,  then 
received  the  appointment 

Beffistrar-Oeneral  o/Birfhs^  Deaths,  ^. 

8.  In  1835  a  new  office  was  created,  that  of  Begistrar- 
Greneral  of  Births,  Deaths,  and  Marriages.  Mr.  Francis  Baily 
and  others  of  my  friends  suggested  to  me  that,  being  known 
to  the  public  as  qualified  for  this  situation  by  my  previous 
publications,  I  had  a  fiGdr  claim  to  the  appointment  Having 
made  inquiries  on  this  subject,  I  found  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  make  any  application,  as  the  place  was  intended  for 
the  brother-in-law  of  a  Secretary  of  State. 

9.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Lister,  a  few  years  after,  the  same 
office  agam  became  vacant,  when  other  friends  then  made  a 
similar  suggestion. 

On  making  preliminary  inquiries,  I  found,  as  before,  that 
all  applications  would  be  useless,  as  the  appointment  was 
intended  for  a  military  officer.  Major  Graham,  the  brother  of 
another  Secretary  of  State. 

Commissioners  ofBailways. 

10.  Some  years  ago,  the  alarm  created  by  accidents 
occurring  upon  railways,  induced  the  Grovemment  to  consider 


THE  RAILWAY  BOARD.  479 

about  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  to  examine  into  their 
causes,  and  to  lay  down  rules  for  the  guidance  of  the  Com- 
panies in  the  prevention  of  those  dangers. 
.  In  1846  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  appointing  Com- 
missioners for  the  supervision  of  railways.  Having  myself 
thought  much  upon  the  subject^  and  having  had  personally 
some  experience  on  railways,  I  had  the  vanity  to  think  that 
the  mechanical  knowledge  of  the  author  of  "  The  Economy 
of  Manufactures  "  would  justify  his  appointment  as  one  of 
those  Commissioners. 

Applying,  under  such  circumstances,  for  a  Commissioner- 
ship  of  the  Railway  Board,  I  expected  that  I  should  find  few 
competitors  with  higher  claims.  But  I  had  no  interest — a 
military  engineer  was  appointed,  who  already  held  a  civil 
appointment,  and  who  died  in  less  than  two  years  after. 

11.  On  the  occurrence  of  this  vacancy  another  military 
officer  was  appointed.  I  was  again  passed  over,  under  cir- 
cumstances which  at  the  time  I  thought  must  have  caused 
deep  regret  in  the  mind  of  the  Minister  who  made  the  ap- 
pointment. 

After  an  existence  of  a  few  years,  public  opinion  was  so 
strongly  expressed  against  the  Railway  Commission  that  it 
was  dissolved. 

I  am  satisfied  that  in  each  of  these  cases,  the  appointment 
was  entirely  due  to  family  or  political  influence. 

I  have,  in  the  course  of  my  experience,  frequently  heard  of 
appointments  made  in  the  most  flattering  and  unexpected 
manner ;  of  titles  ofiered,  in  fact,  in  such  a  way,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  decline  them.  Having  myself  seen  a  good  deal 
behind  the  scenes  of  the  drama  of  life,  I  have  repeatedly 
found  that  these  unsolicited  honours  have  been  obtained  by 
the  most  persevering  applications,  and  by  the  most  servile 


480  REFLECTIONS  ON  PATRONAGE. 

flattery.  Indeed,  to  the  great  scandal  of  public  life,  suocess 
has  in  some  instances  been  attained  by  a  man  condescending 
for  a  time  to  oppose  his  own  party,  and,  as  some  obserrer  has 
wittily  remarked,  ^  of  attempting  to  break  into  the  shop  foe 
the  purpose  of  serving  behind  the  coimter." 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  patronage  entrusted  to  the  dis- 
position of  a  Minister  often  proves  an  onerous  and  ungrateful 
trust,  demanding  powers  of  discrimination  and  forbearance 
not  always  found  in  public  men ;  whilst  a  careful  observation 
of  the  manner  in  which  patronage  is  usually  dispensed  does 
not  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  its  exercise  is  always  free  from 
the  influence  of  corrupt  motives.  Even  in  the  cases  in 
which  such  impure  motives  seem  absent,  it  too  frequently 
happens  that  oth^  influences  beside  a  just  and  honest  dis- 
crimination appear  to  have  taken  a  part  in  regulating  the 
distribution  of  public  favour.  It  would  be  invidious  to  specu- 
late on  the  motives  or  discuss  the  merits  of  the  appointments 
to  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  refer :  with  their  propriety 
or  otherwise  I  have  individually  no  concern :  of  the  positive 
motives  which  induced  them  I  have  no  knowledge,  at  least 
not  suflScient  to  justify  me  in  condemning  them  on  that  score. 
But  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  such  appointments  hare  not 
always  been  made  without  some  degree  of  pain  or  misgiving, 
and  perhaps  a  conscientious  scruple  on  the  part  of  the  Minis- 
ter; indeed  I  have  sometimes  indulged  a  suspicion  that  a 
little  firmness  to  resist  external  pressure  would  occasionally 
secure  more  fairness  to  candidates  for  public  employment, 
and  tend  to  retain  the  services  of  more  efficient  agents  of  the 
public  weaL 

Although  mankind  may  difier  among  one  another  indi- 
vidually ad  injiniium,  they  possess  certain  moral  elements 
which  are  common  to  the  race.     Such  belong  to  the  animal. 


THE  WEIGHT  OP  NEPOTISM.  481 

and  are  never  obliterated,  though  they  may  occasionally  be 
concealed  by  the  ermine  of  office  or  the  robe  of  state.  Self- 
interest  is  the  great  lever  of  society ;  and  though  the  patriot 
profess  to  sacrifice  it  for  the  public  good,  or  the  cynic  affect 
to  despise  its  influence  as  opposed  to  his  philosophy,  I)oth 
these  may  claim  our  respect,  but  neither  should  be  permitted 
to  deceive  us.  A  Minister  who  professes  to  cast  off*  the  attri- 
butes of  humanity  is  either  a  victim  of  delusion  who  has  suc- 
ceeded in  deceiving  himself,  or  a  knave  who  is  bent  upon 
deceiving  others.  He  may  spurn  the  temptation  of  a  bribe, 
because  his  wants  do  not  lie  in  that  direction;  and,  not- 
Mrithstanding  his  generous  pretensions,  he  wiU  never  discern 
merit  imless  accompanied  by  popular  suffittge  or  political 
influence:  in  his  balance  one  grain  of  nepotism  will  wei^^h 
down  all  the  hanedtf  he  has  at  his  disposal. 


2  1 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


AGBEEABLE   BEOOLLEOTIONS. 


In  the  course  of  this  volume  I  have  mentioned,  under  other 
heeids^  many  agreeable  drcmnstances,  and  many  others  remain 
unwritten.    I  shall  now  confine  myself  to  two. 

On  one  occasion  when  I  was  engaged  in  my  workshop  in 
arranging  some  machinery  for  experiments  on  a  difficult  part 
of  the  Analytical  Engine,  an  intimate  Mend  called,  and  I 
went  into  the  library  to  see  him.  An  unopened  letter  lying 
on  the  table,  he  asked  whether  I  usually  treated  my  letters 
in  that  way.  I  looked  at  the  letter,  which  appeared  to  be  a 
printed  one.  When  my  friend  had  left  me,  I  opened  it^ 
and  found  that  it  professed  to  be  from  the  Institute  of 
France,  announcing  my  nomination  as  a  corresponding 
member  of  that  distinguished  body.  On  looking  at  the  con- 
clusion for  the  well-known  signature  of  my  friend  Ar^o,  I 
found  another  name  which  I  could  not  read.  I  therefore 
concluded  that  some  wag  had  played  me  a  trick.  I  howeyer 
doubted  whether  the  joke  was  intended  to  hit  me  or  the 
Academy  of  Sciences. 

Having  left  the  paper  on  my  table,  I  returned  to  my 
experiments.  After  dinner  I  took  up  the  neglected  docu- 
ment, and  then  for  the  first  time  perceived  that  it  professed 
to  be  from  the  Academy  of  Moral  Sciences.  On  re-examin- 
ing the  signature,  I  found  it  to  be  that  of  its  eminent  secre- 


ACADEMY  OP  MORAL  SCIENCES.  483 

tary,  M.  Mignet,  and  that  it  was  the  official  annotmceiuent  of 
my  election  as  a  Corresponding  Member  of  that  Academy. 

Now  the  first  impression  on  my  own  mind  was  one  of 
sincere  regret  I  felt  for  a  moment  that  the  Academy  might 
have  thus  hononred  me  not  solely  for  my  labours  in  their 
own,  but  in  other  departments  of  science.  This  painful 
feeling  was,  however,  only  momentary.  It  then  occurred  to 
me  that  I  had  written  the  "  Economy  of  Manufactures,"  which 
related  to  Political  Economy,  one  section ;  and  the  "  Ninth 
Bridgewater  Treatise,"  which  related  to  Philosophy,  another 
section  of  the  Academy  of  Moral  Sciences.  I  now  felt  a  real 
pleasure,  which  amply  compensated  me  for  the  transitory 
regret ;  and  I  am  sure  no  member  of  the  many  academies 
who  have  honoured  me  by  enrolling  my  name  on  their  list 
will  reproach  me  for  stating  the  fact,— that  no  other  nomi- 
nation ever  gave  me  greater  satisfaction  than  the  one  to 
which  I  have  now  adverted. 

Some  years  ago  my  eldest  son,  Mr.  B.  Herschel  Babbage, 
was  employed  by  the  Government  of  South  Australia  to  ex- 
plore and  survey  part  of  the  north-western  portion  of  that 
colony.  After  an  absence  of  about  six  months,  a  consider- 
able portion  of  which  time  he  spent  in  a  desert,  he  reached  a 
small  station  at  the  head  of  Spencer's  Gulf,  intending  to  wait 
there  until  the  arrival  of  a  steamer  from  Adelaide,  which  was 
expected  in  about  a  week  to  carry  back  the  wool  of  the 
distant  and  scattered  colonista 

It  so  happened  that,  a  few  days  before,  a  Swedish  merchant- 
vessel,  commanded  by  Capt  Orling,  a  part  owner  of  the  ship, 
had  also  arrived  in  search  of  a  freight  of  wool.  Captain 
Orling  on  going  ashore  heard  of  the  arrival  at  tlie  settlement 
of  a  stranger  from  the  interior,  and  on  inquiry  found  that  he 
bore  my  name. 

2  I  2 


484  GRATEFUL  SWEDEN 

He  immediately  went  in  search  of  my  eon,  and  having 
found  him,  said,  "  I  am  not  personally  acquainted  with  your 
"  father,  but  I  am  well  acquainted  with  his  name :  he  has 
"  shown  such  kindness  to  a  countryman  of  mine*  that  every 
"  Swede  would  be  proud  of  an  opportunity  of  acknowledging 
"  it.  The  steamer  for  which  you  are  waiting  cannot  arrive 
"  until  a  week  hence.  There  are  no  accommodations  in  this 
"  station,  not  even  a  public-house ;  I  entreat  you  to  come  on 
**  board  my  ship  and  be  my  guest  until  the  steamer  arrives 
**  and  is  ready  to  take  you  to  Adelaide." 

My  son,  who  during  the  six  previous  months  had  slept 
under  no  canopy  but  that  of  heaven,  accepted  this  delightftd 
invitation,  and  enjoyed,  during  a  week,  the  society  of  a  very 
agreeable  and  highly-informed  gentleman. 

I  have  received  many  marks  of  attention  of  various  kinds 
from  natives  of  Sweden — paragraphs  translated  from  Swedish 
newspapers  which  were  peculiarly  interesting  to  me,  en- 
gravings, and  printed  volumes.  I  have  been  honoured  with 
these  attentions  by  persons  in  various  classes  of  society  up  to 
the  highest,  and  I  am  confident  tliat  the  enlightened  and 
accomplished  Prince  to  whom  I  allude  will  not  think  me 
ungrateful  when  I  avow  that  the  most  gratifying  of  all  these 
attentions  to  a  father,  whose  name  in  his  own  oonntrv  has 
been  useless  to  himself  and  to  his  children,  was  to  hear  from 
England's  antipodes  of  a  grateful  Swede  welcoming  and 
giving  hospitality  on  the  part  of  his  countrymen  to  my  sod 
for  the  sake  of  the  name  he  bore. 

*  It  had  been  my  good  fortune  to  have  an  opportunity  of  renderins 
juBtioo  to  the  meriUi  of  Mr.  Schetitz,  the  inventor  of  the  Swedish  Diffexvnor 
Kngine. 


CONCLUSION.  485 

Conclusion. 

I  will  now  conclude,  as  I  began,  by  invoking  the  attention 
of  my  reader  to  a  subject  which,  if  he  is  young,  may  be  of 
importance  to  him  in  after-life.  He  may  reasonably  ask  what 
peculiarities  of  mind  enabled  me  to  accomplish  what  even 
the  most  instructed  in  their  own  sciences  deemed  impossible. 

I  have  always  carefully  watched  the  exercise  of  my  own 
faculties,  and  I  have  also  endeavoured  to  collect  from  the 
light  reflected  by  other  minds  some  explanation  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

I  think  one  of  the  most  important  guiding  principles  has 
been  this: — ^that  every  moment  of  my  waking  hours  has 
always  been  occupied  by  same  train  of  inquiry.  In  far  the 
largest  number  of  instances  the  subject  might  be  simple  or 
even  trivial,  but  still  work  of  inquiry,  of  some  kind  or  other, 
was  always  going  on. 

The  difficulty  consisted  in  adapting  the  work  to  the  state  of 
the  body.  The  necessary  training  was  difficult.  Whenever 
at  night  I  found  myself  sleepless,  and  wished  to  sleep,  I  took 
a  subject  for  examination  that  required  little  mental  effort, 
and  which  also  had  little  influence  on  worldly  affairs  by  its 
success  or  fEulure. 

On  tlie  other  hand,  when  I  wanted  to  concentrate  my  whole 
mind  upon  an  important  subject^  I  studied  during  the  day  all 
the  minor  accessories,  and  after  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  I 
found  that  repose  which  tlie  nuisances  of  the  London  streets 
only  allow  from  that  hour  until  six  in  the  morning. 

At  first  I  had  many  a  sleepless  night  before  I  could  thus 
train  myself. 

I  believe  my  early  perception  of  the  immense  power  of 
signs  in  aiding  the  reasoning  faculty  contributed  much  to 


4?4*  CONCLUSION. 

viwtfex^r  socceas^  I  may  have  had.  Probably  a  still  more 
imrorukzii  «?leiDent  wiis  tlie  intimate  eooTlction  I  possessed 
that  ilie  li]^;fae:si  objein  a  i^^^^nable  being  eonld  pursue  was 
lo  exKkttToQT  to  disiroTer  those  laws  ci  mind  by  which  man^s 
intell^t  pfess^  from  the  known  to  the  discoYery  of  the 
nnkiK^wn. 

This  feeling  w^a^s  ever  ptesent  to  my  own  mind,  and  I 
^[hkaToared  to  trice  its  principle  in  the  minds  of  all  around 
me.  as  well  as  in  the  w^urks  of  my  predecessors. 


APPENDIX. 


Miracles. 
Note  (il),  jpage  394. 

It  has  always  oocurred  to  my  mind  that  many  difSouIties  touGhing 
Miracles  might  be  reconciled,  if  men  would  only  take  the  trouUe 
to  agree  upon  the  nature  of  the  phenomenon  which  they  call 
*'  Miracle."  That  writers  do  not  always  mean  the  same  thing 
when  treating  of  miiacles  is  perfectly  clear ;  because  what  may 
appear  a  miracle  to  the  unlearned  is  to  the  better  instructed  only 
an  effect  produced  by  some  unknown  law  hitherto  unobsenred. 
So  that  the  idea  of  miracle  is  in  some  respect  dependent  upon 
the  opinion  of  man.  Much  of  this  confusion  has  arisen  from  the 
definition  of  Miracle  given  in  Hume's  celebrated  Essay,  namely, 
that  it  is  the  **  violation  of  a  law  of  nature." 

Now  a  miracle  is  not  necessarily  a  violation  of  any  law  of 
nature,  and  it  involves  no  physical  absurdity. 

As  Brown  well  observes,  **  the  laws  of  nature  surely  are  not 
**  violated  when  a  new  antecedent  is  followed  by  a  new  conse- 
**  quent ;  they  are  violated  only  when  the  antecedent,  being  exactly 
**  the  same,  a  different  consequent  is  the  result ;"  so  that  a  miracle 
has  nothing  in  its  nature  inconsistent  with  our  belief  of  the 
uniformity  of  nature.  All  that  we  see  in  a  miracle  is  an  effect 
which  is  new  to  our  observation,  and  whose  cause  is  concealed. 

The  cause  may  be  beyond  the  sphere  of  our  observation,  and 
would  be  thus  beyond  the  familiar  sphere  of  nature;  but  this 
does  not  make  the  event  a  violation  of  any  law  of  nature.  The 
limits  of  man's  observation  lie  within  very  narrow  boundaries, 


488  APPENDIX. 

and  it  would  be  arrogance  to  suppose  that  the  reach  of  man's 
power  is  to  form  the  limits  of  the  natural  world.  The  universe 
offers  daily  proof  of  the  existence  of  power  of  which  we  know 
nothing,  but  whose  mighty  agency  nevertheless  manifestly 
appears  in  the  most  familiar  works  of  creation.  And  shall  we 
deny  the  existence  of  this  mighty  energy  simply  because  it 
manifests  itself  in  delegated  and  feeble  subordination  to  God's 
omnipotence  ? 

There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  miracle  that  should  render 
it  incredible :  its  credibility  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
evidence  by  which  it  is  supported.  An  event  of  extreme  proba- 
bility will  not  necessarily  command  our  belief  unless  upon  a 
sufficiency  of  proof;  and  so  an  event  which  we  may  r^ard  as 
highly  improbable  may  command  oiu*  belief  if  it  is  sustained  by 
sufficient  evidence.  So  that  the  credibility  or  incredibility  of  an 
event  does  not  rest  upon  the  nature  of  the  event  itself,  hut 
depends  upon  the  nature  and  sufficiency  of  the  proof  which  sus- 
tains it 

Mill,  in  speaking  of  Hume's  celebrated  principle,  "  that  nothing 
*'  is  credible  which  is  contradictory  to  experience,  or  at  variance 
**  with  the  laws  of  nature,"  calls  it  a  very  plain  and  harmless  pro- 
position, being,  in  effect,  nothing  more  than  that  whatever  is 
contradictory  to  a  complete  induction  is  incredible. 

Admit  the  existence  of  a  Deity,  and  the  possibility  of  a  miracle 
is  the  natural  consequence.  No  doubt  our  examination  of  the 
evidence  which  sustains  an  unusual  phenomenon  should  be  most 
carefully  conducted ;  but  we  must  not  measure  the  credibility  or 
incredibility  of  an  event  by  the  narrow  sphere  of  our  own  experi- 
ence, nor  forget  that  there  is  a  Divine  energy  which  overrides 
what  we  &miliarly  call  the  laws  of  nature. 

If  a  miracle  is  not  a  suspension  or  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature,  it  may  fairly  be  asked.  What  is  it  ? 

If  we  define  a  miracle  as  an  effect  of  which  the  cause  is 
unknown  to  us,  then  we  make  our  ignorance  Uie  source  of 
miracles!  and  the  univei-se  itself  would  be  a  standing  miracle. 


APPENDIX.  489 

A  miracle  might  be  perhaps  defined  more  exactly  as  an  effect 
which  is  not  the  consequence  or  effect  of  any  known  laws  of 
nature.  Dr.  Clarke  defines  a  miracle  as  a  singular  event  pro- 
duced contrary  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature  by  the  intervention 
of  an  intelligent  Being  superior  to  man.  The  Abb6  Houteville 
defines  a  miracle  as  the  result  of  the  general  order  of  the  mecha- 
nism of  the  universe.  **  It  is,"  he  says,  **  a  result  of  the  harmony 
*'  of  the  general  laws  which  God  has  decreed  for  the  working  out 
'*  of  the  system  of  the  universe."  Spinosa  says,  **As  men  call  that 
*'  science  Divine  which  surpasses  the  reach  of  the  human  mind,  so 
"  they  detect  the  hand  of  God  in  every  phenomenon  of  which  the 
*'  cause  is  unknown  to  them."  And  certain  it  is  that  men  attach 
more  importance  to  an  apparent  suspension  or  violation  of  the 
ordinary  laws  of  nature  than  to  the  wonderful  harmon}*  and 
uniformity  of  the  laws  of  the  universe ;  as  though  it  implied  a 
greater  degree  of  power  to  suspend  or  interfere  with  such  laws 
than  to  establish  them  and  preserve  their  uniformity  in  the 
economy  of  the  universe.  AVhilst  Nature  follows  out  her  ordi- 
nary course,  man,  familiarized  with  the  movement  of  the  celestial 
orbs,  sees  myriads  of  globes  revolve  in  moving  harmony  about 
their  spheres  with  a  kind  of  vacant  indifference,  nor  imagines  for 
a  moment  that  he  sees  aught  to  excite  his  wonder  or  stimulate 
his  intelligence  into  inquiry ;  in  fact,  he  does  not  see  God  in  His 
works.  But  if  this  harmony  and  uniformity  are  interrupted  for 
a  moment,  man  detects  the  power  of  God  in  the  interruption, 
albeit  he  could  not  perceive  it  in  the  uniformity  of  natural  cause 
and  effect  This  singular  obtuseness  of  the  human  mind  I  leave 
to  the  discussion  of  theologians  and  philosophers ;  for  my  own 
part,  I  confess  my  utter  inability  to  comprehend  it.  Whatever 
truly  exists  must  emanate  from  the  will  of  God,  whether  the 
event  falls  within  what  we  understand  by  the  uniformity  of 
nature,  or  whether  it  is  otherwise.  A  miracle  must  fall  within 
one  of  these  categories ;  and  in  either  case  it  is  the  effect  of  the 
will  of  God.  Such  an  interruption  does  not  imply  any  notion 
of  caprice  or  imperfection  in  the  Deity ;  but,  on  the  contiary,  it 


^0  AFFE5D1X. 


is  one  cf  Ae  attdlMftBB  cf  Hk  power,  and  qvite  rmnninfflut  witb 
oar  MoHnw  cf  Ae  libertf  cf  Hk  wiD,  vmotniiied  by  any  Ism 
wliidi  it  mMj  be  His  |iU— iiii  to  proamlgya  fior  the  ^ovenmeot 

«OpflB»dat,eauiliawA»dat,''flBjB8LA]«iiBtiii.  MiiadeB 
■aj  be.  Cor  anjtbi]^  we  kaow  to  tihe  eootaij,  pliBOGBaena  of  a 
bi^her  older  of  Godfa  bkwi^  aaperior  to,  and,  amder  certain  eon- 
ditkan^  oontitillii^  tbe  inleriar  ovder  loiowB  to  lai  aa  the  ovdiii^ 
biwacf  nataie. 

Hie  great  diflfeolly  in  tbe  oouidentian  of  miiardea  la,  Ibat 
beii^  in  tbe  natare  of  tbii^  ineipable  cf  Tenfioalaan,  tbe 
eridenoe  wbidi  woold  be  aaflWawit  to  eetabliah  die  Iratbof  an 
ordinaiy  event  witbin  tbe  ^here  of  nataial  fdienaniena  would 
not  be  aaffident  to  oommand  our  aoeent  intbecaae  of  a  miiacle. 
And  this  does  not  aiiae  frtan  a  Biiiacle  beii)^  qppoaed  to  nature,  bat 
onaoooontoftbeinfinnifyof  onrnatme;  fior  we  are  alwaja  liable 
to  be  deceived,  not  onl j  hy  otben,  but  even  hy  our  own  aeiMea. 

Tbe  extraordinaiy  character  cf  an  eTcnt,  although  it  does  not 
neocGBaril J  render  the  tnrth  of  its  existence  incredible,  ulywild, 
nerertheleaB,  put  ns  upon  cor  guard,  and  render  ns  particolariy 
csntions  in  eTsmining  the  evidence  npon  which  its  troth  is 
asserted.  We  shoold  even  examine  with  csre  and  cantion  the 
evidence  of  phenomena  of  the  most  ordinary  character  before  we 
yield  our  coni|>lete  assent  to  the  sf^iarait  troth  of  their  mani- 
festation; and  a  foHkri  in  the  examination  of  the  evidence 
which  sustains  extraordinaiy  j^enomena  we  shoold  require  moch 
stroi^r  evidence,  and  sodi  as  rebnts  the  possibility  of  being 
deceived  by  other  persons,  or  even  by  oor  senseei 

Bnt  we  most  be  carefol  to  discriminate  between  onr  own 
incapacity  to  test  troth  and  the  neceesaiy  improbabili^  of  an 
event.  It  k  plain  that  from  oor  ignorance  of  the  remote  spheres 
of  God's  action  we  cannot  jodge  of  His  works  removed  &om  oor 
experience;  bot  s  fiict  is  not  necessarily  doobtfnl  becaose  it 
cannot  be  reached  oy  oor  ordinary  senses.  To  recapitulate,  we 
may  lay  down  the  following  propositions : — 


APPENDIX.  491 

1.  That  there  is  no  real  physical  distinction  between  miracles 
and  any  other  operations  of  the  Divine  energy :  that  we  regard 
them  differently  is  because  we  are  familiar  with  one  order  of 
events  and  not  the  other. 

2.  There  is  nothing  incredible  in  a  miracle,  and  the  credibility 
of  a  miraculous  event  is  to  be  measured  only  by  the  evidence 
which  sustains  it.  And  although  the  extraordinary  character  of 
a  phenomenon  may  render  the  event  itself  improbable,  it  does 
not,  therefore,  necessarily  render  it  either  incredible  or  untrue. 

Religion. 

Note  (B),  page  403. 

St.  Athanasius  is  not  the  author  of  the  Creed  which  bears  his 
name.  It  did  not,  in  iacty  exist  within  a  century  after  his  death« 
It  originally  appeared  in  a  Latin  text,  and  consequently  in  the 
Wostom  provinces.  Gennadius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
was  loss  tolerant  of  its  eccentricities,  or  more  sensible  to  its 
sublimity  even  than  myself,  for  ho  was  so  amazed  at  the  extra- 
ordinary character  of  its  composition  that  he  frankly  pronounced 
it  to  be  tho  work  of  a  drunken  man.  See  '  Fetav.  Dogmat.  Theo- 
logica,'  tom.  II.  Ivii.  c.  8,  p.  687 ;  and  Gibbon's  '  Decline  and  Fall,' 
vol.  iv.  p.  335.  If  we  may  trust  La  Bletterie  for  tho  character 
of  Athanasius,  nothing  is  more  improbable  than  that  he  could  be 
the  author  of  the  Creed  still  preserving  his  name.  '*  He  was," 
says  La  Bletterie,  "  the  greatest  man  of  his  age,  and  perhaps  ihe 
**  greatest  that  the  Church  has  ever  possessed.  He  was  endued 
**  with  a  well- balanced,  a  lively,  and  penetrating  mind;  a  gene- 
'*  rous  and  disinterested  heart;  a  courage  and  heroism  alwa3rs 
'*  eqiud;  a  lively  faith,  and  a  charity  without  bounds;  a  pro- 
'*  found  humility ;  a  Christianity  bold,  but  simple  and  noble  as 
"  tho  Gospel.  His  eloquence  was  natural,  distinguished  by 
"  a  rare  precision  of  speech." 

The  foundation  of  all  religion  iis  the  belief  in  a  God,  and  that 
He  exists  in  certain  relation  with  His  creatures.      Such  belief 


492  APPENDIX. 

necessarily  leads  to  the  consciouBness  of  some  obligation  towards 
the  Deity;  and  this  consciousness  suggests  the  duty  of  woiBhip ; 
and  in  the  selection  of  the  form  of  this  worship  originates  the 
various  creeds  which  distinguish  and  distract  mankind.  There 
is  a  sort  of  geography  of  religion ;  and  I  regret  to  think  that  the 
majority  of  mankind  take  their  creed  from  the  clime  in  which 
they  happen  to  be  bom ;  and  that  many,  and  not  an  inconsider- 
able portion  of  mankind,  suffer  the  sacred  torch  to  bum  out 
altogether,  in  their  contact  with  the  world,  and  then  vainly 
imagine  that  they  can  recover  the  sacred  fire  by  striking  a  spark 
out  of  dogmatic  theology ! 


Addition  to  the  Chapter  on  Eailboads. 

One  of  the  most  important  iacis  which  the  engine-driver  ought 
to  know  is  the  exact  time  since  the  preceding  train  has  passed 
the  point  of  railroad  on  which  his  own  engine  is. 

This  may  be  done  by  placing  signals,  about  to  be  described, 
by  the  side  of  or  across  the  road  at  all  places  where  such  know- 
ledge is  most  important 

The  principle  to  be  employed  is,  that  at  the  passage  of  those 
places  the  engine  itself  should,  in  its  transit,  wind  up  a  weight 
or  spring.  That  this  weight  should  act  upon  an  arm  standing 
perpendicularly,  which  would  immediately  commence  moving 
slowly  to  the  horizontal  position.  This  it  should  attain  by  an 
equable  motion  at  the  end  of  three,  five,  or  any  desirable  number 
of  minutes. 

The  means  of  raising  the  weight  may  be  derived  either  from 
a  projection  below  the  engine  or  by  one  above  it  The  latter, 
which  seems  preferable,  might  be  attached  to  a  light  beam  txu- 
versing  the  road  to  which  the  apparatus  should  be  fixed. 


LIST  OP  MH.  BABBAQE'S  PRINTED  PAPERS. 

Many  appHcalioM  having  been  made  to  the  Author  and  to  his  Publishen^  for 
ddaehed  Papers  which  he  has  from  time  to  time  printed,  he  takes  this  oppor- 
tunity of  giving  a  list  of  those  Papers,  with  referenoes  to  the  Works  in  which  they 
may  be  found.  

1.  Tho  Prefaoe ;  jointly  with  Sir  Johnl  Memoirs  of  the  AnalyUoal 
Heracbei.  \     Society,     ^to.   Cambridge, 

2.  On  Continued  Producta.  J      1813. 

3.  An  Essay  towards  tho  Oalculos  of  Functions. — PhU,  Trans.  1815. 

4.  An  Essay  towards  the  Oalculus  of  Functions,  Pari  2.^Phil.  Trans.  1816. 
P.  179. 

5.  Demonstrations  of  some  of  Dr.  Matthew  Stewart's  General  Theorems,  to 
which  is  added  an  Account  of  some  New  Properties  of  tho  Circle.— iJoy.  Inst. 
Jour.  1816.    Vol.  i.  p.  6. 

6.  Observations  on  the  Analogy  which  subsists  between  the  Calculus  of 
Functions  and  otlier  branches  of  Analysis. — Phil.  Trans.  1817.    P.  179. 

7.  Solution  of  some  Problems  by  means  of  the  Oalculus  of  Functions. — Boy. 
Inst.  Jour.  1817.     P.  371. 

8.  Note  respecting  Elimination. — Roy.  InsL  Jour.  1817.    P.  355. 

9.  An  Account  of  Euler's  Method  of  Solving  a  Problem  relating  to  tho 
Knight's  Move  at  Cliess.— -Boy.' Jfwf.  Jour.  1817.    P.  72. 

10.  On  some  new  Methods  of  Investigating  the  Sums  of  several  Classes  of 
Infinite  Series.— P/iiI.  Trans.  1819.    P.  245. 

11.  Demonstration  of  a  Theorem  relating  to  Prime  Numbers. — Edin.  Phil 
Jour.  1819.     P.  46. 

12.  An  Examination  of  some  Questions  connected  with  QtaoGB  of  Cliance. 
^Trans.  of  Roy.  Soc.  of  Eiiin.  1820.    Vol.  ix.  p.  153. 

13.  Observations  on  the  Notation  employed  in  the  Calculus  of  Functions. — 
Trans,  of  Cam.  Phil  Soc.  1820.     Vol.  i.  p.  63. 

14.  On  the  Application  of  Analysis,  ^c.  to  the  Discovery  of  liocal  Theorems 
and  Porisms. — Trans,  of  Roy.  Soc.  of  Edin.    Vol.  ix.  p.  337.     1820. 


15.  Translation  of  tlie  Differential  and  Integral 
Calculus  of  La  Croix,  1  vol.     1816. 

16.  Examples  to  the  Differential  and  Integ^ 
Calculus.    2  vols.  8vo.     1820. 


ThcM  two  worka  were  exo- 
CQted  In  oo(\JuncU<m  with 
the  KeT.  Q.  I'fcock  (Diwn 
of  Ely)  and  Sir  John  Her- 
•cheUIkrt. 


17.  Examples  of  the  Solution  of  Functional  Equations.  Extracted  from  the 
preceding.    8vo.    1820. 

18.  Note  respecting  the  Application  of  Machinery  to  tho  Calculation  of 
Mathematical  Titbles.— Afeinoir*  of  the  AUron.  Soc.    June,  1822.    Vol.  i.  p.  309. 

19.  A  Letter  to  Sir  H.  Davy,  P.R.8.,  on  the  Application  of  Machinery  to  tlio 
purpose  of  calculating  and  printing  Mathematical  Tables.    4to.    Juiy,  1822. 

20.  On  the  Theoretical  Principles  of  the  Machinery  for  calculating  Tables. 
— -Brewster  •  Edin.  Jour,  of  Science.     Vol.  viii.  p.  122.     1822. 

21.  Observations  on  the  application  of  Blachinery  to  the  Computations  of 
Matliematical  Tables.  Doc.  1822,— Af<riiioira  of  Attron.  Sor.  1824.  \o\.  i. 
p.  311. 

22.  On  tlie  Determination  of  the  General  Term  of  a  new  Class  of  Infinite 
Sorios.— TVYinir.  C^m.  Phil.  Soc.  1824.     Vol.  ii.  p.  218. 


494  LIST  OF  MR.  BABBAGE'S  PRINTED  TAPERS. 

23.  ObsorvationB  on  the  Measurement  of  Heights  by  the  Barometer. — 
Brewster* 8  Edin,  Jour,  of  Science,  1824.    P.  85. 

24.  On  a  Now  Zenith  Micrometer. — Mem.  Attro.  8oc.  March,  1825. 

25.  Account  of  the  repetition  of  M.  Arago's  Experiments  on  the  Magnetism 
manifested  by  various  substances  during  Rotation.  By  G.  Babbage,  iSn.  and 
Sir  John  Herscbel.— Pfet7.  Trans,  1825.    P.  467. 

26.  On  the  Diving  Bell.— JS?n^.  Metrop,    4to.    1826. 

27.  On  Electric  and  Magnetic  Rotation.— PfciZ.  Trans,  1826.    Vol  ii.  p.  494 

28.  On  a  method  of  expressing  by  Signs  the  Action  of  Machinery. — Pkil. 
Tram.  1826.    Vol.  ii.  p.  250. 

29.  On  the  Influence  of  Signs  in  Mathematical  Reasoning. — Trans.  Cam. 
Phil.  8oc.  1826.    Vol.  ii.  p.  218. 

30.  A  Oompamtive  View  of  the  different  Institutions  for  the  Assurance  of 
life.    1  vol.  8vo.  1826.    German  Translation.    Weimar,  1827. 

31.  On  Notation. — Edinburgh  Encydopedia.    4to. 

32.  On  Porisms. — Edinburgh  Encyclopedia.    4to. 

33.  A  Table  of  the  Logarithms  of  the  Natural  Numbers,  from  1  to  108,000. 
Stereotyped.    1  vol.  8vo.    1826. 

34.  Three  editions  on  coloured  paper,  with  the  Prefiice  and  Instructions 
translated  into  German  and  Hunganan,  by  Mr.  Ohas.  Nagy,  have  been  pub- 
lished at  Pesth  and  Vienna.    1834. 

35.  Notice  respecting  some  Errors  common  to  many  Tables  of  Lognritlims. 
— itfern.  Astron.  Soc.    4to.  1827.    Vol.  iii.  p.  65. 

Evidence  on  Savings-Banks,  before  a  Conmiittee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
1827. 

36.  Essay  on  the  general  Principles  which  regulate  the  Application  of 
Machinery. — Ency,  Metrop.    4to.     1829. 

37.  Letter  to  T.  P.  Courtenay  on  the  Proportion  of  Births  of  the  two  Scxm 
amongst  Leritimato  and  Illegitimate  Children. — Breweter's  Edin.  Jour,  of 
Science.  Vol.  ii.  p.  85.  1829.  This  letter  was  translated  into  French  and 
published  by  M.  Villerm6,  Member  of  the  Institute  of  France. 

38.  Account  of  the  great  Congress  of  Philosophers  at  Berlin,  on  18  Sept. 
1828. — Communicated  by  a  Correspondent  [C.  B.].  Edin.  Joum.  of  Science  by 
David  Brewster.    Vol.  x.  p.  225.     1829. 

39.  Note  on  the  Description  of  Mammalia. — Edin.  Jcur.  of  Scietice,  1829. 
Vol.  i.  p.  187.    Ferussac  BuU,  vol.  xxv.  p.  296. 

40.  Reflections  on  the  Decline  of  Science  in  England,  and  on  some  of  its 
Causes.    4to.  and  8vo.    1830. 

41.  Sketch  of  the  Philosophical  Cliaractors  of  Dr.  Wollaston  and  Sir  H. 
Davy.     Extracted  from  the  Decline  of  Science.    1830. 

42.  On  the  Proportion  of  Letters  occurring  in  Various  Languages,  in  a  letter 
to  M.  Que'telet. — Correspondence  Mathematique  et  Physique.    Tom.  vi.  p.  1.36. 

43.  Specimen  of  Logarithmic  Tables,  printed  with  different  coloured  inks 
and  on  variously-coloured  papers,  in  twenty-one  volumes  8vo.    London.    1831. 

The  otijcct  of  this  Work,  of  which  one  riffle  copy  only  was  printed,  ts  to  aacertjJn  bj  exp«Ti> 
mcnt  the  tints  of  the  paper  sod  colours  of  the  inks  least  fktigulng  to  the  eye. 

One  hundred  and  flfty-one  variously-coloured  npers  were  cboaen,  aod  the  same  two  paigrs  of 
my  stereotype  Table  of  LoRarithms  were  printed  upon  them  in  inks  of  the  following  coktury  . 
light  blue,  dArk  blue,  light  green,  dark  green,  olive,  yellow,  light  red,  dark  red,  purple,  and 
black. 

tlarh  of  these  twenty  volumes  contains  papers  of  the  same  colour,  numbered  in  the  aame  onlrr. 
and  there  are  two  volumes  printed  with  each  kind  of  Ink. 


LIST  OF  MR.  BABBAQE'S  PRINTED  PAPERS,  495 

Tho  tw«ntj-flnt  ▼olmne  contains  metallic  printing  of  tlM  Mine  gpedmeo  In  gold,  inTer,  and 

»pper,  upon  Telliun  and  on  varioiuly "Coloured  papers. 

For  the  same  pQrpoae,  aboat  tlilrtv-flve  copies  of  tlie  complete  table  of  losarlthms  were  printed 

1  thick  drawing  paper  of  varloos  tmts. 

An  account  of  ttiis  work  may  be  (bond  in  the  JBOn,  J<mm.  qf  Sdmot  (Awieefar't),  1832. 


VoL  vi.  p.  144. 

44.  Economy  of  ManuilEMstares  and  Machinery.    8to.    1832. 

There  are  many  editions  and  also  American  reprints,  and  several  Translations  of  this  Work 
into  German,  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  Sec 

45.  Letter  to  Sir  Dayid  Brewster,  on  the  Adranta^e  of  a  Collection  of  the 
Constants  of  Nature  and  Art. — Brewster* »  Edin,  Jour,  of  Sdenoe,  1832. 
VoL  yi.  p.  334.  Reprinted  by  order  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Science.  Cambridge,  1833.  See  also  pp.  484,  400,  Report  of  the 
Third  Meeting;  of  the  British  Association.  Reprinted  in  Compte  Rendu  des 
Travoanx  du  Congros  Qdu^ral  de  Statistique.  Bruxellcs,  Sept.  1853. 

46.  Barometrical  Observations,  made  at  the  Fall  of  the  Staubbach,  by  Sir 
John  Horschel,  Bart.,  and  C.  Babbage,  Esq. — Brewster* $  Edin,  Jour,  of  Setence. 
Vol.  vl  p.  224.     1832. 

47.  Abstract  of  a  Paper,  entitled  Obseryations  on  the  Temple  of  Serapis,  at 
Pozzuoli,  near  Naples  ;  with  an  attempt  to  explain  the  causes  of  the  frequent 
elevation  and  depression  of  largo  portions  of  the  earth's  surface  in  remote 
periods,  and  to  prove  that  those  causes  continue  in  action  at  the  present  time. 
Kead  at  Geological  Society,  12  March,  1834.  See  AbUrcuU  of  Proceedings  of 
Oeol.Soc.    Vol.  ii.  p.  72. 

This  was  the  first  ftrinted  publication  of  Mr.  Babbage's  Geological  Theory  of  the  Isothermal 
Surfaces  of  the  Earth. 

48.  The  Paper  itself  was  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Geological  8oe. 
1846. 

49.  Reprint  of  the  same,  with  Supplemental  Conjectures  on  the  Physical 
State  of  tho  Surface  of  tho  Moon.     1847. 

50.  Ix)tter  from  Mr.  Abraham  Sharpe  to  Mr.  J.  Crosthwait,  Hoxton,  2  Feb. 
1721-22.  Deciphered  by  Mr.  Babboge.  See  Life  of  Flamsteed,  by  Mr.  F. 
Baily.     Appendix,  pp.  348.  390.     1835. 

51.  The  Ninth  Bridgewator  Treatise.  8vo.  May,  1837;  Second  Edition, 
Jan.  1838. 

52.  On  some  Impressions  in  B&ndBicme.^ Proceedings  of  Oeologieal  Society. 
Vol.  ii.  p.  439.    Viiio,  Phil  Mag.  &CT.  3.    VoL  x.  p.  474.     1837. 

52*.  Short  account  of  a  method  by  which  Engraving  on  Wood  may  bo  ren- 
dered more  useful  for  the  Illustration  and  Description  of  Machinery. — Report  of 
Meeting  of  British  Association  at  Newcastle,     1838.    P.  154. 

53.  Letter  to  the  Members  of  the  British  Association.    8vo.    1839. 

54.  General  Plan,  No.  25,  of  lir.  Babbage*s  Great  Calculating  or  Analytical 
Engine,  lithographed  at  Paris.    24  by  30  inches.     1840. 

55.  Statement  of  the  circumstances  respecting  Mr.  Babbage's  Calculating 
Engines.    8vo.     1843. 

56.  Note  on  the  Boracic  Acid  Works  in  Tuscany. — Murray* s  Handbook  of 
Central  Italy.    First  Edition,  p.  178.     1848. 

57.  On  the  Principles  of  Tools  for  Turning  and  Planing  Metals,  by  Charles 
Babbage.  Printed  m  the  Appendix  of  Vol.  ii.  Holtzapfful  Turning  and  Me- 
chanical Manipulation.     184t>. 

58.  On  the  Planet  Neptune.— n«  Times,  15th  March,  1847. 

59.  Thoughts  on  the  Principles  of  Taxation,  with  reference  to  a  Property 
Tax  and  its  Exceptions.  8vo.  1848.  Second  Edition,  1851.  Third  Edition, 
1852. 

An  Italian  translation  of  the  first  edition,  with  nolas,  was  pabliahed  at  Turin,  in  18S1. 


496  LIST  OF  MR.  BABBAGE'S  PRINTED  PAPERS. 

60.  Note  respecting  the  pink  projectians  from  the  Son's  disc  obe^red  during 
the  total  solar  eclipse  in  1851. — Proceedings  of  the  Agtnm,  8oc.,  voL  xii^  No.  7. 

61.  Laws  of  Mechanical  Notation,  with  Lithographic  Plate.  PriTately 
printed  for  distribution.    4to.    July,  1851. 

62.  Note  respecting  Lighthouses  (Occulting  Lights).    8to.    Nov.  1851. 
Communicated  to  the  Trinity  House,  30  Nov.  1851. 

Reprinted  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  on  LighthooaeB  proeented  to  the 

Senate  of  the  United  States,  Feb.  1852. 
Reprinted  in  the  Mechanics*  Magazine,  and  in  various  other  periodicalB  and 

newspapers.     1852-3. 
It  was  reprinted  in  various  parts  of  the  Report  of  CommissioDerB  appointed 

to  C2uunine  into  the  state  of  Lighthouses.    Parliamcntaiy  Paper.  1861. 

63.  The  Exposition  of  1851 ;  or.  Views  of  the  Industry,  the  Science,  and  the 
Government  of  England.    6«.  6d.    Second  Edition,  1851. 

64.  On  the  Statistics  of  Light-houses.  Gompto  Rendu  des  Traveaox  du 
Congres  G6i^ral,  Bruxelles,  Sept.  1853. 

65.  A  short  description  of  Mr.  Babbage*s  Ophthalmoscope  is  contained  in 
the  Report  on  the  Ophtlialmoscope  by  T.  Wharton  Jones,  F.R.S. — BHlith  and 
Foreign  Medical  Beview.    Oct.  1854.    Vol.  xiv.  p.  551. 

66.  On  Secret  or  Cipher  Writing.  Mr.  T.'s  Cipher  Deciphered  by  C— 
Jbiir.  Soc.  Arts,  July,  1854,  p.  707. 

67.  On  Mr.  T.'s  Second  Liscrutable  Cipher  Deciphered  by  C. — Jour,  Soe, 
ArU,  p.  777,  Aug.  1854. 

68.  On  Submarine  Navigation. — lUtutraied  News,  23rd  June,  1855. 

69.  Letter  to  the  Editor  of  the  Times,  on  Occulting  Lights  for  Lighthoowe 
and  Night  Signals.    Flashing  Lights  at  Sebastopol.     16th  July,  1855. 

70.  On  a  Method  of  La^ng  Guns  in  a  Battery  without  exposing  the  men 
to  the  shot  of  the  enemy.    The  Times,  8  Aug.,  1855. 

71.  Sur  la  Machine  Su^oise  de  M.  Soheutz  pour  Calculer  lea  Tables  Math«^ 
matiques.    4to.     Comptes  Rendus  et  VA  cadimie  des  Sciences,    Paris,  Oct.  8, 1855. 

72.  On  the  Action  of  Ocean-cunents  in  the  Formation  of  the  Strata  of  the  Earth . 
— Quarterly  Journal  Geological  Society,  Nov.  1856. 

73.  Observations  by  Charles  Babbage,  on  the  Mechanical  Notation  of 
Scheutz  8  Di£fercnoe  Engine,  prepared  and  drawn  up  by  his  Son,  Major  Hcniy 
Prevost  Babbaffe,  addressed  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers.  Minmit*  of 
Proceedings,  vol.  xv.    1856. 

74.  Statistics  of  the  Clearing-Houso.  Reprinted  from  Trans,  of  Statistiral 
Soc.    8vo.    1856. 

75.  Observations  on  Peerage  for  Life.    July,  1833.    Reprinted,  1856. 

76.  Observations  addressed  to  the  President  and  FellowB  of  the  Royal  Sorietv 
on  the  A^-ard  of  their  Medals  for  1856.    8vo. 

77.  Table  of  the  Relative  Frequency  of  Occurrence  of  the  CaoBea  of  Break- 
ing Plute-ghiss  Windows.— Afec^.  Mag.  24th  Jan.  1857. 

78.  On  Remains  of  Human  Art,  mixed  with  the  Bones  of  Ebitinct  Baocv  of 
Animals.    Proceedings  of  Roy.  Soc.  26th  May,  1859. 

79.  Passages  from  the  Life  of  a  Philosopher.    8vo.    1864. 

80.  [In  the  press].  History  of  the  Analytical  Engine.  4to.  It  will  con- 
tain Chapters  V.,  Vl.,  VH.,  and  VIII.,  of  the  present  Volume.  Reprint  of  Tlie 
Trunslation  of  General  Menabrca's  Sketch  of  the  Analytical  Engine  invented 
by  Charles  Babbage.  From  the  BiUiothegue  UnirersMe  de  Oettive,  Na  82, 
Oct.  1842.  Translated  by  the  late  Countess  of  Lovelace,  with  cxtenajve  Notra 
by  the  Translator. 

LOXDOK  :  PKIKTICD   BT    W.  CLOW1C8  AKD  SONS.  tTAMFOaO  CTRKICZ   AVO  dUKIKQ   CKCjM. 


39    PATBBIC08TXB   RoW,    R.O. 

Ij02(D03f,  June  1864. 


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The   History  of   England  from 

the  Fall  of  Woisej  to  the  Death  of  Eliza- 
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